Civilians
by CoraxOnyx
Summary: G1 Blaster/Perceptor/OC Not soldiers, but willing to fight. A story from a different battleground. OC warning. No slash. This promises to be pretty long, so watch for updates and revisions. Constructive criticism always welcome.
1. In the gutter, looking at the stars

Civilians

Disclaimer: All Transformer characters and settings are property of Hasbro/Takara. This work is fan fiction and is not intended for profit.

Chapter 1: We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.--**Oscar Wilde**

_The Autobots on Cybertron had moved their bases underground early in the course of the Great War. It was a smart strategic decision. The ruined surface cities were pitted husks that provided little shelter from keen eyed Decepticon Seekers and their missiles. Underground a network of transit tubes, tunnels and fortified bunkers gave the ground bound Autobot forces the shelter and secrecy they needed to combat their airborne foe._

_The underground bases were largely unoccupied now. After the Ark was lost, Cybertronians of both factions recognized that their war-torn world was unable to support even their basic energy needs any longer. Most of the remaining Autobots fled the planet, commandeering the remaining vessels in the Autobot space fleet as colony ships. They traveled throughout the sector and established outposts on many planets and asteroids in hopes of surviving until they could return and reclaim their home planet. Many Decepticons followed the Autobot refugees, but some remained on Cybertron under the command of Megatron's steward Shockwave. So the few Autobot loyalist holdouts remaining on Cybertron went into hiding.--**The Prime Interregnum: Cybertron in Stasis, Cybertronia Datafile 137-2663**_

Cyberton: 48192.77 vorns since the launch of the Ark

Deep beneath the surface of the metallic planet Cybertron the Autobot scientist Perceptor sat at a work table in his lab. He had been just about to refit and repair the holounit that sat on the surface when the door opened and two familiar figures entered.

"Greetings Blaster, Codex," he said to the tall red mech and the small grey femme, "What can I do for you?"

The little femme elbowed her companion. "Ask him," she hissed.

"Right," Blaster said, "Perceptor, we'd like your help with a project."

"I am rather busy at the moment," the scientist said, "but I'll be available to help you later if you would like. What kind of project?"

"It's something important," the younger Autobot said earnestly. "We want to go up to the surface, to the Polyhex comm. tower."

"Polyhex?" Perceptor asked. "That's a long way and neither of you have vehicle alternate modes, how do you propose to get there?"

"We can take the transit tunnel most of the way there, and then it's just a short run in the open to the base of the communications tower. If we time it right, the centurions will be way over on the other side of their patrol pattern while we're getting in place. It'll be easy." Blaster's enthusiasm for his plan was evident in the excited way he was gesturing with wide sweeping hands. Perceptor genuinely liked the younger Autobot, but he wasn't so sure about his plan.

"And what purpose would that serve?" Perceptor asked.

"We'll be able to tap into the Decepticon comm. We'll find out what's got Shockwave so active lately." Blaster frowned, displaying a flash of irritation.

"I understand that your strategy seems workable, Blaster. However, I am unwilling to accompany you on such a hazardous mission, especially considering the limited value of the data you may or may not gain." Perceptor turned away from the red and yellow mech to examine the device on his worktable. He had no interested in spying on the Decepticon steward.

"Perce, come on. The radio traffic has been humming for orns now. I know something's going on. Right, Codex?" Blaster turned to the smaller Autobot standing next to him for confirmation.

"Well, Shockwave has been sending out more frequent patrols and we do know he's had a team of maintenance drones working on something in the tower." The codebreaker nodded her assent. "It might just be preparation for a Decepticon ship coming back from the colonies, though," she concluded evenly.

"Exactly my point," the scientist replied primly, turning back around. "There is no need to make a potentially dangerous excursion to the surface at this time. I am certain that if it is something important we will hear about it from someone more experienced in reconnaissance than you two are."

"They go up and check, but they never bring back enough information," complained Blaster.

"That's true," seconded Codex. "None of Elita's Autobots have Blaster's recording capability. And you know the radio messages to the ships are always encrypted. If we went we might be able to intercept and record…"

"I am sorry. But no." Perceptor put up his hand to stop Codex. "I will expediate your report about the radio transmissions to Elita-One, Blaster. However, I am not going to grant you permission to infiltrate Decepticon headquarters."

"I wasn't asking you for permission…" Blaster muttered. Codex cut him off.

"We understand, Perceptor. Sorry to have taken up your time," she said.

"Quite all right." The scientist turned back to his workbench as Codex and Blaster walked out of the lab into the corridor. He could still hear them talking as they walked away.

"I knew he wasn't going to go with us. We didn't need to bother asking him." Blaster sounded irritated with Codex. "Why did you tell me to ask him, anyway?"

"He's been down here for almost twenty-five thousand vorns. We've found and fixed practically everything there is to fix down here. Did you see what he had on his workbench?" She asked.

"No. What was it?"

"It's a holoprojector unit, one of the public area ones. We haven't had a public holotransmission for fifty thousand vorns, and he's fixing, and probably upgrading, a player. He's running out of work and I don't know what will happen when he finally realizes it." Her voice grew faint and vaguely sad.

"He doesn't think much of our plan. I don't think we should hassle him. Let's go get some energon," said Blaster, striding away.

"Wait for me." Codex hurried to catch up. The sound of their footsteps faded away down the echoing hallway.

Perceptor's friends were right in one respect. He was looking for work to occupy him. Thankfully there was a lot to do, despite what Codex seemed to think. He deftly unscrewed the bolts holding the scarred outer cover of the broken holoprojector together. It was a titanium-selenium alloy, sturdy enough to protect the delicate lenses and mirrors inside from most normal vibrations and buffeting, but obviously insufficient to resist the explosive impact that had blackened the metal and torn the player from its wall mounting who knew how long ago. The cover came apart in a shower of glittering, glassy fragments. The projection components were fractured beyond repair, but perhaps they could be replaced.

Perceptor meticulously picked the remaining silvered glass fragments out of the charred housing. He was confident that the design could be improved and made sturdier by using metallic mirrors and clear ceramic lenses. He had developed an interest in the technology while studying with its inventor, Wavefront, in the Nova Cronum labs.

Wavefront understood light and optics better than anyone Perceptor had ever encountered. He had helped to improve Perceptor's own lens array when the two first met. He was a brilliant scientist, a good friend, and an unfortunate casualty of war.

Wavefront had attempted to remain neutral in the early part of the war, a difficult position to maintain as three of his former colleagues were now Megatron's most ruthless new lieutenants, Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave. The end came for Wavefront when Starscream brought him before Megatron for interrogation. The Decepticon leader didn't learn anything from the scientist as he refused to shift from his adamant neutrality or to donate his technology to the Decepticon cause. So Megatron slaughtered him for his stubbornness. His colleagues and friends at Nova Cronum discovered his inert body staked to the wall next to the lab entrance shortly afterward. Wavefront's death marked the end of the Nova Cronum labs and the end of detached scientific neutrality. Most of the remaining scientists and technicians joined the Autobots. The others fled Cybertron however they could.

On occasion Perceptor regretted his decision to stay and fight. He loathed the mandatory combat training and found the antics of the highly charged soldiers making up the majority of the Autobot force to be patently incomprehensible. However, he was impressed with the soldiers' bravery and dedication to one another.

Their jocular fraternity was a shocking change from the cultivated, scholarly, collegial relationships of Nova Cronum. The Autobot warriors were drawn from all parts of Cybertron's varied society and their manners and discourse often seemed to be dictated by the lowest common denominator. Thankfully, their wild barracks behavior evaporated instantaneously on the battlefield, where the eccentric collection of warriors coalesced into a fierce and tenacious fighting force.

He also found the Autobot Commander, Optimus Prime, to be an inspiring leader, if for nothing else than his ability to keep his obstreperous command in line. Prime was a savvy tactician. He sought out those in his command with unique skills and directed them to the work most suited to their abilities.

Prime soon put Perceptor to work refitting and improving the Autobots' weapons and gear. This threw the scientist into a collaborative relationship with Wheeljack, the Autobots' slightly dangerous inventor. Wheeljack, despite his reputation, was an easy mech to know. He was good natured and quite talented, if somewhat erratic. Perceptor enjoyed their working relationship and Wheeljack's acceptance of the scientist eased Perceptor's transition from neutral mech of science to Autobot warrior in the eyes of his Autobot comrades.

Shaking his head to clear it of distracting memories, Perceptor focused again on the holoprojector. He was satisfied with the repairs, but he wanted to test it before he went to the trouble of reinstalling it. He rummaged around on his workbench and located a portable holoplayer. Hooking the player up, he retrieved a disk from an unmarked stack next to his data station. He inserted the disk in the player and activated it.

He smiled to himself. The distinct image that hovered in the light of the holoprojector was of Wheeljack. The inventor was obviously saying something as the blue indicator lights on each side of his helmet were flashing. Perceptor turned up the sound on the unit.

"…_shouldn't be too long, but I figured I'd leave you a message and a reminder in case you forget_." The inventor chuckled, blue speechlights flashing merrily. "_Not that you'd forget the work, Perceptor, but you might forget us_."

"As if I could," Perceptor muttered to himself.

"_Anyway, I'm going to let you finish up the re-wiring on that matter reducer. I know you understand the principle better than I do_…"

"_And he tests everything twice_" broke in another voice, somewhat gravelly, "_better than you, too_."

"_Ha, ha! If you want to get in on this, you have to be on camera. Come over here_." Wheeljack beckoned and a second figure, this one blocky and white with a distinctive red chevron on his forehead, stepped into the image. Rachet, the Autobots' Chief Medical Officer, grimaced at his unseen audience.

"_All right Perceptor, here are MY instructions for while I'm gone. Help out Elita-One's medics when you can, don't get broken, and stay out of sight. With the bulk of the force gone, you are going to be in for a lot of hurt if the 'cons catch you out. Don't let them."_ Ratchet inclined his head toward Wheeljack. _"I'll try to keep this one from blowing himself up while we're gone." _

"_I expect I won't have time. Optimus Prime wants to get there and get back. I can't imagine I'll have much time for inventing."_ Wheeljack sounded regretful.

"_That's fine with me. I don't like splitting up like this. We'll see you soon."_ Ratchet waved as Wheeljack leaned forward, his hand briefly filling the image before the transmission abruptly terminated.

"See you soon." Perceptor echoed. "Whenever that might be." He put the holoprojector aside and looked for something else to fix.

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Codex and Blaster ambled into the communal leisure quarters shared by the team. The room was quite large, but the furnishings consisted of only two recharge berths, one data terminal, an energon dispenser and a small collection of chairs, couches and tables. The recharge berths were in use, taken up by off duty members of the reconstruction team. Codex identified them as Flange, a blue and yellow mech with a talent for architecture and Arcdriver, a green femme who specialized in power systems. The data terminal was being used by the team's heavy work supervisor, Steelblade.

Blaster poured them each a mug of energon while Codex cleared datapads and rolls of plans from a couch to give them a place to sit.

"I don't know why no one ever puts these things back when they're done with them," she complained as she neatly stacked the pads on a nearby table.

"I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's because you do it for them when they leave them around. And you complain when they get put back by anyone else." Blaster replied as he settled into his seat and propped his feet on the table taking care to avoid the stacked pads.

"Well, if they got put back in the right order, I wouldn't complain. We do have a system for a reason." She accepted the energon he offered and settled herself in the corner of the couch.

He didn't reply. He sipped his energon and made a face. "Why does this slag always taste so raw?"

"I think it's the siphoning process. The energon comes from so many sources that the taste gets muddled." She sipped from her own mug.

They sat in companionable silence for a while. Steelblade finished whatever he was doing at the terminal, logged off, and rose to leave. He nodded curtly at Blaster and Codex as he left the room.

Blaster watched the foremech walk away. When he was sure Steelblade was gone he spoke. "We're going up there. You know there's something going on."

"I know there is. I just hope we didn't tip Perceptor off. He couldn't really stop us, but Elita-One can." Codex spoke softly, wary of being overheard.

"Elita may be the Autobot commander, but we're not exactly soldiers, are we?" Blaster asked and grimaced. "It's not like we fight or anything."

"You know why we don't fight Shockwave's forces openly. He controls all of the topside automatic defense systems. At least we have something constructive to do. Imagine how Elita's actual troops must feel. You think you're bored? Try being Moonracer." Codex chuckled at the thought of the impatient young warrior.

"Huh. 'Let's have a jamming field, Blaster.' 'Test that terminal, Blaster.' 'Blaster, would you sift through this enormous pile of slag? I know there's a working diode in here somewhere.' Really constructive Codex."

She laughed aloud at that. "Blaster, you're worse than Gears was."

"I wouldn't know." His voice was cold. He obviously didn't want to be jollied out of his mood right now. Sobered, she composed herself as he went on. "This is important. You think I don't take the 'cons seriously, but right now I am the only one willing to consider that they may be up to something big."

"I never said you don't take the Decepticons seriously," she protested.

"Not in so many words, but you're always on me about following the security protocols. It comes down to the same thing," he grumped.

"I don't want you to get hurt. And anyway, I already said I'd help you, despite the protocols. Try to remember who's on your side." She attempted to change the subject. "Are we going to approach Perceptor again?"

"No, he's not going to admit anything is going on until the evidence is right in front of his optics. We'll have to get something good before he'll believe us," he dismissed Perceptor with a wave.

"What time do you want to head out?" She asked, rising.

"Let's go in the middle of recharge time. If we both hit recharge early tonight, we'll be able to go while the others are offline. Can you manage that?" he asked.

"Sure. I'll meet you here in two cycles." She collected the empty energon mugs.

"Great. And Codex?" he said with a smile. "I do know who's on my side."

She smiled back at him as she dropped the energon mugs into the sterilizer and left the room.

Codex usually prepared to cycle down by completing her work logs and filing the datapads in the archive room. She felt vaguely uneasy about skipping this soothing activity as she walked past the archive to her quarters. Recharge was more important right now, especially as she would need to slice both the Autobot and Decepticon security systems on their way out and back. If Blaster was determined to pursue his mission then it was her job to keep him hidden and out of trouble while he did it.

She settled into her recharge berth and prepared to go offline. Her processor was still idly turning over the events of the day. She shuttled the thoughts into their appropriate files, briefly examining each one. Images rose; Perceptor at his workbench, Blaster's warm relieved smile, stacks of un-filed datapads. She distracted herself with a simple hexadecimal replacement cipher, mentally encrypting and decrypting her friends' names until she glided into shutdown.

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Blaster awoke from recharge in the dark of his quarters. He lay still for a few kliks and listened. Other than the ever present deep thrum of the Cybertronian underground all was silent.

He slid from his berth in the dark and made his way stealthily to the door. He eased it open and crept out into the dimly lighted hallway. Up and down the hall doors were closed. He made his way down the corridor to the leisure quarters. They were unoccupied and dark. He looked around the room, a sleek gray datapad on a table next to the entrance glowed into life.

_+Ready to go?+_ sent Codex over a private radio link.

_+Yep. You sure you can get us past the cameras at the exit?+_ It was the part of the plan that most worried him. She'd promised him that they'd have no trouble, though. "_Time to see if she's right_," he thought to himself.

_+Good. Carry me down there and broadcast a jamming frequency when I give you the signal. Once you do that, stick me in a shadowy corner and plug this line into the wall port.+ _A thin cable unwound from the side of the datapad. +_Then back up and drop the jammer. I'll let you know when we're good to go.+_

He picked up the datapad from the table and walked quietly toward the doors leading to the front of the Autobots' secure base. Codex sent him a nudge over the radio link and he activated his jamming signal. He darted forward, wedged the datapad into a dark corner and plugged the line into the wall. Then he backed up and deactivated the jammer.

His radio receptor picked up on the interruption in the dataflow from the cameras. This was quickly followed by the "whoosh" of the doors' opening and Codex's transformation into her primary form. She beckoned for him to go past her out of the door. As he did so, she disconnected her cable from the dataport and scurried out after him as the doors closed again.

_+We have three cycles. That should give us enough time.+_ She radioed as they jogged toward the transportation system access together.

Blaster was impressed by the scale of the underground transport system. Shining transport tubes twined and climbed through the dark transit station into Cybertron's sub-strata. Travelers entered the system at access ports in vast vaulted terminals like the one below Nova Cronum. The tube system used magnetic induction for frictionless travel and was powerful enough impel a traveler from one side of the planet to the other in mere cycles. The older portions of the transit system required the use of shuttle cars, but these were gradually abandoned as streamlined Autobot vehicle forms became more and more commonplace over the vorns. In their repairs, the Autobot teams had converted all of the system to the newer, free travel type. This made their current task easier as the shuttle cars were more obvious than two lone travelers. The Decepticon communications tower they were interested in was in the neighboring sector of Polyhex, a short trip.

Blaster stepped into the transit tube, enjoying the weightless feeling. He radioed the system's grid and programmed their destination into the impeller control. He waited for Codex to take her place in the tube behind him before he sent the activation command. Then they were off. He rejoiced in the speed, whooping aloud as he hurtled along. He had often wished he was able to go this fast on his own, but his alternate form was designed for boosting his broadcast and reception skills, not for travel. It was one of the few things he had in common with Perceptor. He wondered if the scientist also craved speed and sensation. What an idea. Perceptor was buried in his sedentary life. Blaster wondered if Perceptor even remembered about the war anymore. Probably not, unless someone reminded him.

All too soon the exhilarating trip was over. The Polyhex terminal had been repaired by another team and the exits to the surface were sealed by thick blast doors. The Autobots didn't give their enemies easy access to their hidden underground bases. Codex went to the closest door and examined the access pad.

"I don't think anyone's been here in a while to change the codes so the old encryption should work. That's sloppy work, but it helps us now. Even if you aren't right about Shockwave, I'm going to ask Elita-One to have the teams step up security. We won't be able to do this twice." She looked at him steadily.

"Hey, when you find out that I'm right, I'll help you reprogram everything myself. It'll be worth it." He grinned down at her.

She reached up for the access pad and pried the cover off. Then she pulled a thin cable from the base of her helmet by her audio receptor and slid the flat connector at the end into the programming port of the access control. Her blue optics flickered and flashed as she tapped out a code on the keypad.

The blast door ground slowly open with less noise than Blaster had expected. Codex unplugged her cable and replaced the cover. "We have one cycle. Then this will close and lock again. I put in an override code to re-open it, but we'll have to disassemble the wall to get at the panel from the other side. Let's try not to be late." She said and turned to walk up the tunnel to the surface.

He followed her. It was all unknown territory from here. What would they do if Shockwave spotted them? What if they walked into an unexpected patrol, or worse? And worst of all, what would he do if there was nothing to find?

It was time to find out.

**Author's Note:**

This story grows out of my affection for Perceptor and Blaster. They have a unique position in the TF world and I felt like they needed to have a story together. I hope my OC isn't too annoying. I was trying to come up with a cool Autobot character which would help me include some stuff about machine language and codes in a story. I'm interested in computers and communication and so is she. We'll see how she works out.

Some vocabulary

Vorn—83 Earth years (source Teletran-One Transformers wikia)

Orn—approximately one Cybertronian lunar day (ibid)

Klik—1.2 minutes (ibid)

Cycle—2 hours (ibid)

I know I'm borrowing time units from more than one source, but these are the ones that seem to work best together.

"Slicing" is a verb from the Cyberpunk genre used here as a synonym for "hacking". So someone "slicing" a system would be accessing it in an unauthorized fashion and attempting to hide their activities from the system itself and anyone using or monitoring it.

The text at the top is an imaginary datafile I'm using for exposition. An interregnum is the time when a king is not on the throne. England has had a few of these.

Comments, questions and constructive criticism gladly accepted.

**Revision Note:**

Some of my kind reviewers found the first paragraphs to be too dense and "writer-y" so I trimmed them out and got right into the dialogue. I'm leaving the opening exposition as it sets the scene and provides a device I want to use for the story. Again, comments and criticism are welcome.


	2. Something we do not understand

Civilians

The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand. --**Frank Herbert**

Chapter Two: Something we do not understand.

_Ironically, the disappearance of the Ark, along with the Autobot and Decepticon commanders, had been a boon to Cybertron. The subsequent Autobot diaspora and Shockwave's stewardship of the war-shattered planet had brought about a stasis, similar in its way to the stasis lock that preserves the systems of its inhabitants in cases of massive damage. The remaining Decepticons and planetary maintenance drones worked to repair the surface structures, and the hundred or so scattered Autobot holdouts repaired the vast sub-surface areas that had sheltered them for so many millennia. The two groups were tacitly aware of one another, but energy supplies were so low that logical Shockwave determined that it would be an inefficient waste of resources to hunt down and completely eliminate his entrenched foes. He would wait for his fiery commander, Megatron, to return, or some other significant advantage to come his way. The universe was vast and he had time to wait.--__** The Prime Interregnum: Cybertron in Stasis, Cybertronia Datafile 137-2663**_

The metal worktable gleamed under the lab's bright work lights. Freshly repaired devices were lined up neatly on the front edge, ready for use. Tools and components had been returned to their places in drawers and bins. The data station idled quietly, conducting an end-of-use file cleanup protocol. Perceptor examined his workspace one last time. Everything was in order. He nodded to himself, pleased with the precision arrayed before his optics.

His recharge berth was conveniently located on the opposite wall of the lab. He found it inefficient to maintain separate quarters for rest. He went to his berth and sat down, idly debating a quick trip to the leisure area for some energon before logging off, and decided against it. He would rest first. He extinguished the lights and lay in the quiet darkness.

Suddenly, his internal radio crackled into life. +_Perceptor? This is Arcdriver in Security. I'm receiving a transmission from one of the field teams. They need to talk to you.+_

_+I am receiving you, Arcdriver. Patch them through,+ _he replied.

_+No can do, Perceptor. They've got visual feed. Come to the comm. You have got to see this.+_

_+I'll be right there.+_ His feet hit the floor with a clang and he hurried out of the lab and down the darkened hall to the base's anterior security station. He stepped into the security suite and gazed up at the wall sized viewscreen in fascination. It showed a slow sweeping pan of a room filled from floor to ceiling with hand sized cubes softly glowing with a pinkish-purplish light. The image jumped, flickered and started again. The camera's eye focused on a dark rectangular hole in a corridor wall. The hole had been opened by removing a panel from the wall. A figure, metallic red and lithe, weapon extended in a high ready position, stepped briskly through the hole. A moment later, a hand re-emerged and beckoned in a "come here" motion. The camera advanced on the hole. There was a momentary flare of light as the camera compensated for the change in illumination and then it replayed the pan across the cubes.

"Is that energon?" He asked in awe.

"We're pretty sure it is," said a disembodied female voice from a speaker near the viewscreen. "Judging by the size of the room, there's enough here to power a starship."

"Or an attack on all of our hidden bases," said a second voice, somewhat deeper and more apprehensive.

"I've never seen that cube configuration before. Have you Perceptor?" asked Arcdriver. She was sitting in the chair in front of the viewscreen.

"I know I've seen it somewhere before." He replied softly. "Let me think. I don't believe it's new. We and Shockwave have been using direct conduit to ensure maximum efficiency in energon use. Maybe it's an old stockpile." He raised his voice. "It may be very old indeed. I suggest proceeding with extreme caution. Can you get me an image of one of the cubes, close up.?"

"Sure." The lighter voice replied. "But I'll have to wipe the first image. Do you have it saved?"

Arcdriver pressed a button on the viewscreen workstation. The repeating image was replaced with a blank blue screen. "I saved the image. Go ahead with the next transmission, Moonracer."

The screen brightened again showing one of the pink cubes in close-up. Moonracer was obviously standing quite close to the stack to get the image. The cube was crisply formed with sharp edges and sides and it glowed brightly. Not an old cube, then.

"Where did you find these?" Perceptor asked.

"We're in the section of Iacon closest to Polyhex. The remote sensors picked up on some unexpected movement down here, so we came to investigate. As we walked down the corridor, we found the opening you saw and this room." The other disembodied voice explained. Judging by the soft slurring accent and the red figure he had seen, Perceptor deduced that it was Firestar. "When we came across these, we called it in right away. Elita-One said we should consult with you."

"I'm glad you did." Perceptor replied. "But I am puzzled. If Shockwave has a supply of new energon, why is he storing it instead of using it?"

"It could be a trap." Firestar warned. "We haven't touched the cubes in case they were booby trapped. It's something Shockwave would do."

"Perhaps, although this seems like too a substantial cache to serve merely as bait for us." He knew the Decepticon would not be so wasteful of his limited resources. "Can you determine if there is a trap or not? I would like to examine a sample personally."

"Let me check," Firestar appeared in the image again, moving a hand-held sensor slowly up and down the stack of glowing cubes. "There's nothing on the readout. They seem fine." She picked up a cube from the stack.

"Stop right there, Autobot thief!" a harsh voice cried.

Perceptor and Arcdriver jumped, startled as the image swung around to reveal two bulky, broad shouldered figures blocking the exit to the corridor. Their faces were thrown into shadow by the light coming from behind, but their crimson optics blazed their identities readily enough.

"Decepticons!" Perceptor and Moonracer's distant voice echoed one another.

"Very good, little Autobots, Shockwave will be pleased to get such intelligent prisoners to interrogate," one Decepticon said, stepping forward slightly.

"What makes you think we're going to go with you?" asked Firestar. "From where I see it we've got a standoff. You can't fire in here without blowing us all up."

"Oh, we weren't planning on firing," the Decepticon replied. "We're going to take you down by hand, much more fun." He pounded one fist into the opposite hand to illustrate his point. His partner spread his arms wide, prepared to tackle the first moving target that came his way.

_+Firestar, we'll raise the alarm. See if you can stall them.+_ Arcdriver sent on the Autobots' radio frequency.

_+No time. We've got this, but we're going to have to drop the image.+_ Firestar was calm and final. The screen blanked to blue again. Perceptor and Arcdriver stared absently at it as they listened to Moonracer's next words.

"Ooh, sorry guys, that's not our type of fun."

"Too bad," the Decepticon said flatly.

There was a scrape of metal. Firestar shouted "'racer, NOW!" and the speakers squealed with the noise and feedback of a massive explosion. Arcdriver dove for the controls to turn down the volume. There was a "clang", the sound of transformation, engines and skirling tires. Then the speakers rang with Moonracer's merry laughter.

"Moonracer? Firestar? Are you all right? What happened?" Arcdriver called into the console's microphone.

"That's some good energon," drawled Firestar. "I flipped a cube up over the 'cons' heads and Moonracer pegged it from her hip. It blew them clear across the corridor."

"You destroyed the energon sample?" asked Perceptor, dismayed.

"No, I saved your precious sample, Percy. And we're fine, too. In case you were wondering," Firestar sounded exasperated.

Perceptor felt too contrite to object to the hated nickname. "I am pleased that you escaped unharmed. I would have hated to see your bravery and clever planning come to naught."

Arcdriver turned in her chair and gave the scientist a sly smile. "Nice save," she mouthed silently.

He ignored her. "Are you returning to the Iacon base now?"

"Yes," said Moonracer, "but we're going around the long way in case someone is following us."

"I wish to examine the energon right away. Can I meet you at Iacon in three cycles?"

"Make it four," replied Firestar. "I think those guys might have had backup." There was a roar as the two warriors sped up and a faint sound of other engines far away. "We'll be there, don't worry. Firestar, out." The transmission was cut off.

Arcdriver turned her chair to face Perceptor as he slumped down, palms flat on the console desk, head drooping. "She's right, don't worry. They'll be fine. They live for this kind of thing."

"I sincerely hope that they do not die for it as well," he said grimly. "That was a lot of energon. Where could Shockwave be getting it from?"

"Well, brilliant scientist, I guess you'll just have to figure that out," she said, smiling. "In the meantime, go get some time offline. You'll be sharper if you do."

"You are correct, Arcdriver. I will go now," he said, turning on his heel and abruptly walking out.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, Perceptor, you always do," she said softly to his retreating back as she turned to her security terminals.

+-+-+-+-+-+

The access tunnel sloped gently upwards in a gradual spiral to accommodate wheeled or foot traffic. The grimy walls of the tunnel were dimly visible, lighted by intermittently operating panels in the ceiling. The surface access tunnels were the no-mech's land on Cybertron. Both factions avoided them as they were unstable and also ideal sites for sniping or ambush. So Blaster and Codex were unsurprised when they encountered the first section of collapsed ceiling blocking their forward progress.

"Aw, rust and slag," Blaster muttered as he looked up at the cascade of debris and wires filling the curved tunnel. "I wonder how thick this is."

"It looks like there might be a way through, for me. If you transform, I can carry you past." Codex replied.

Blaster nodded and leaped up, folding and shrinking to take on his alternate form, a compact sensor and transmission array about the width of Codex's chest. She hefted him up and secured him to her back with a magnetic clasp.

Then she gingerly picked her way through a curtain of dead hanging wires to the sloped debris pile. Grit sifted down as she pushed the wires aside, coating her gray glossy frame and Blaster's red and yellow one with black particles.

"Hey, careful of the paintjob," he groused in her ear.

"You're too pretty, anyway. If you stuck with a sensible color, you'd hardly notice it," she retorted.

"I like standing out. You can be too practical, you know," he teased.

"Hasn't hurt me yet. Now, shut it, and let me concentrate," she said.

Behind the obscuring wires was a slope of fallen, broken panels and filler from above the tunnel ceiling. It was uneven, but provided lots of hand and foot holds for a careful climber. Codex reached up, grasping and testing each hold before she trusted their weight to it. Blaster's transmitter form was bulky, but thankfully light enough not to throw her off balance.

She pulled herself up, looking for an opening that she could slide or crawl through. She found one opening, but it quickly narrowed to a little hole only a glitch-mouse could have gotten through. She pulled herself higher. There! A metal panel had wedged itself against the wall, forming a slender tunnel. She shifted her weight to climb up and was forced to jump back quickly as she knocked loose a noisy slide of debris that nearly buried her.

"Slag!" she cried in alarm as she regained her foot and handholds. She clung to the pile, listening intently to the echoing noise. "If there's anyone here. They definitely heard that."

"Let's not give them time to find us," Blaster urged.

Codex agreed. Thankfully the bracing panel had been unaffected by the shifting junk. More carefully, she made her way to the side. She unclipped Blaster from her back and slid him ahead of her through the little tunnel. She crawled in behind and alternately pushing and crawling, negotiated the cramped space.

On the other side of the obstruction, the corridor opened up again. She lowered Blaster to the ground and jumped from the pile into the clear tunnel, landing softly. Blaster transformed back into his tall mech form.

"I hope we don't encounter many more of those," he said. "They'll slow us down, too much."

"The tunnel ahead looks clear. We'll just deal with whatever comes up."

"Right," he said, striding ahead again.

There was no sound, other than their own footsteps, as they walked. It looked as if their luck was holding.

They negotiated one more partially blocked corridor in similar fashion before encountering a third fall that was heat fused together. It formed a solid, knobby wall across the entire passageway. So much for luck.

"Great!" Blaster turned to her, exasperated. "What are we going to do now?"

"We could go back," she replied softly. We could try another passage."

"Oh no. We've gotten this far. If we go back, we're going to lose more time. And who knows, maybe all of the exits are like this." He looked back down the corridor again, fists jammed on his hips, elbows akimbo. "This is probably someone's idea of good security."

"It does make sense. If we don't encounter the Decepticons, we don't have to worry about fighting them."

"You know, Codex. I'd prefer fighting to this." He gestured to the corridor behind. "I'm so slagging tired of hiding. I hate being stuck down here in the dark."

"It's hardly dark." She retorted, but she knew what he meant. Their life was quiet, almost peaceful, but wrong. They were so concerned about safety, about preserving Cybertron and holding on until…what? Until the Ark returned from the far reaches of space filled with a billion vorns worth of energy? The Ark was long gone, the poor Autobots who committed themselves to Optimus Prime's desperate gamble for energy were dead. The only aid they provided was to draw off Megatron and his strongest warriors. A reprieve, true, but one that became less and less meaningful as Cybertron's resources dwindled beneath their feet. Eventually their homeworld would be a perfectly repaired tomb circling a dead star.

Such gloomy thoughts, while appropriate for a dim dead end, would not get them to the surface. She couldn't afford the time to brood. She had promised to help Blaster. If he was out of ideas, fine. She wasn't done yet. They couldn't force their way through, but perhaps they could go around.

"Blaster, do you remember the ceiling vent we passed a while back?" she asked.

"Um, nope." He replied, shaking his head.

"Trust me, there was one. Why do you big guys never look up?" She scolded. "Sorry, bad joke. Anyway, we'll go back to the vent and if you boost me up, I can climb up and carry you."

"Sounds like a plan." He replied cheerfully and turned to go back down the corridor. "You know, Codex, our alt. forms are practically the same size, I wonder why my maker didn't give me a small primary mode like yours, too. Being small is pretty useful."

"Being small is all right, especially for getting into tight spaces, but your maker wanted you to be able to fight." Codex replied as they walked down the corridor together. "I'm not much good in a fight, except as a distraction."

"Hmm, hadn't thought of that. Did you do a lot of fighting in the war?" he asked.

"I did some. Especially in the beginning when the Decepticons overran the Archives and we had to escape and meet up with the Autobots at Iacon After that I stayed back at Headquarters and analyzed signals and data. Later, I'd go out with the infiltration teams sometimes and I was usually paired up with someone who was a better shot than me. If we were discovered they'd hold the position while I extracted the data. Then we'd both fight our way out together," she said.

"That infiltration stuff sounds more exciting than staying at headquarters."

"It could be, but it was dangerous. The Decepticon communications officer was ruthless when it came to guarding their data. And he had his own little army to send after anyone he detected. That's why we had to go to direct infiltration. He targeted any Autobot with radio abilities like his own. He'd dispatch Ravage or Laserbeak and they'd tail the 'bot back from the field and catch him alone somewhere. When we'd find them," she frowned, "it was awful. If there's one Decepticon that I'm truly glad is gone, it's Soundwave."

"More than Megatron?" he asked, surprised.

"Definitely. Megatron was powerful, and dangerous, but he reserved his killing grudge for Optimus Prime. Megatron was looking to conquer us. Soundwave wanted to blind and deafen us, and then kill us. Especially 'bots like me, and you."

"Me? What, because I'm able to pick up on and jam radio, like him?" he asked.

"Exactly," she said looking up at him. "Looks like we're here."

Blaster lifted Codex up to the vent in the ceiling. After a moment of work the vent cover swung down and she hoisted herself up into the dark square opening to grasp the bottom rungs of the ladder. He jumped up and transformed and she caught him neatly, securing him against her back. She looked up to see the faint glimmer of stars high above.

_+Radio receptors open?+ _She asked Blaster over their private link.

_+I'm listening. All quiet so far.+_ He replied.

She started to climb.

+-+-+-+-+

Codex crouched just below the grating of the access vent. Blaster opened his radio receptor, extended a thin antenna, and listened for activity in the area. There was the usual background static produced by Cybertron's magnetic field. He tuned down through the drone frequencies, noting the strength of the signals and plotting them on his mental area grid. He caught a brief crackle of traffic from a trio of Decepticon Seekers flying high and fast, but they were soon out of sight. After about ten kliks, he was satisfied that there were no enemy units close by and signaled to Codex to open the hatchway.

She cautiously lifted the grate and peered out. They were in the center of a large open space. In former times, this plaza had been busy with travelers entering and leaving the transit system from the domed buildings to the left. Abandoned now, it felt larger than it truly was. Blaster did not feel comfortable in the open like this. He transformed from his alt. mode and trotted quickly towards the rows of squat, square buildings opposite the transit system entrance. Codex followed him, looking around. When they gained the shelter of the buildings, they both stopped to listen again.

Faintly, Blaster could hear something moving in the next street. Codex must have heard it too, as she stiffened against his leg, tensely listening. His radio confirmed that it was a Sentinel drone on routine patrol. The mindless sentry was following its pre-set search pattern, watching and listening for anything.

_+Will it come this way?+_ Codex asked over their radio link. +_Or do you think we can avoid it?+_

_+It will probably come this way. We have to go past it to get to the comm. tower, anyway. I don't think we'll be able to fool its sensors. It's linked in to the Decepticon mainframe. It'll report anything it hears or sees right away,+_ he replied.

_+We can't avoid it, but maybe we can take it out.+ _She narrowed her optics. _+They're strong, but not very fast. The two of us should be able to deactivate it.+_

_+It'll call for reinforcements as soon as we attack it. We'll have every drone in the sector on us within two kliks, and Seekers on the way for backup.+_ He shook his head.

_+What if we prevent it from calling in while we're taking it down?+ _She smiled up at him sardonically. +_I know you HATE having to broadcast a jamming field…+_

He smiled wickedly back. _+Now, that might just work. We'll have a problem when the mainframe looks for it and it's offline, though.+_

_+I have a solution for that, too. Just don't crack its head, all right?+_ She flexed her fingers and shuffled her feet. +_Ready?+_

_+Ready!+_ He cut the radio link and activated his powerful jammer as they ran together towards the sounds on the other side of the building.

Blaster pulled up abruptly as he confronted the drone. It was a bulky purple thing standing in an empty street between two empty buildings. It gripped a laser pistol in one hand. Its head, merely suggested by a clear dome between its shoulders, turned to face him and it raised the weapon.

"HALT!" It cried harshly. "Identification and clearance passcode required."

Blaster spread his hands and took a step forward. "Well, that's going to be a problem," he said evenly. "I'm afraid I don't have anything like that, but maybe we can work something out."

The Sentinel paused, looking for a response from its command center to this anomalous input. During the astrosecond it idled the gun drifted off target. As soon as Blaster saw the gun barrel move, he darted forward and pulled it from the drone's slack grip. The drone responded by lashing out with its other fist, landing a ferocious uppercut to his chest that knocked Blaster off of his feet.

As he fell, he dropped the weapon. The drone bent down to recover the gun and Blaster launched himself from the ground, tackling the big machine. They landed together with a crash of sparks and scraping of metal against the ground. Now Blaster was struggling to pin the drone to the ground while the larger robot pummeled him with both fists.

They grappled together on the ground as Codex darted up. She slipped around the tangle of flailing limbs and leaped up to cling to the drone's chest. The machine swiped at her with one arm, but she ducked neatly and undid a catch at the side of the domed head. The clear dome swung wide, revealing the drone's control center. Codex jammed a hand in and the drone abruptly went slack.

Blaster leaned back, examining his arms and chest where several large dents marked the glossy red surface. They were painful, but a quick check showed that the damage was superficial. Codex was busy in the drone's head again. She had plugged into it with a data cable from her helm and she was intently switching wires and pulling diodes. It was a disturbing sight, watching his friend intently rewiring another machine's central processor with such detached concentration.

"Remind me not to get you mad at me," he said shakily.

"I'm putting in an offline delay and pulling some data, not destroying it," she said. "I wouldn't do this to your processor, anyway. You're way too complex."

"That's good to know," he said faintly.

"I know what this looks like, but these drones aren't alive. We can't leave it offline permanently, but we can arrange some time for ourselves," she said, unplugging the cable and latching the head dome back down. "Help me drag this one off of the street."

They moved the drone into one of the nearby buildings and closed the door. "Ok, here's my plan," she said. "I have its radio frequency and identity codes. I'll upload them to you once you drop the jammer. When the mainframe searches for it, you call in with its ident. and report an all clear. You're going to have to keep checking in according to the protocol data, so don't forget. The real drone will come back online in half a cycle and I've advanced its chronometer and wiped its recent memory, so it won't miss the time. It should just report in as normal when it goes online. Once you hear it call in, you can stop."

"Works for me. Give me the codes." He dropped his jamming signal and she sent him the information over their radio link. It was pretty simple. The mainframe sent out an ident. pulse every fifty kliks. As long as he replied with the correct code, the computer would log the drone's active status automatically. If a drone didn't respond, the computer would alert Shockwave and the steward would have to personally confirm the drone's status and cancel the alert. Blaster intended to avoid that.

They headed off again, spotting the climbing spire of the Decepticon comm. tower on the horizon. Its slender form pierced the sky, glowing lights mingling with the stars of the eternal Cybertronian night. Obviously, Shockwave was at home.

Blaster's radio receptor buzzed with an incoming signal. The Decepticon mainframe was searching for the drone. He sent back the ident. code, anxious despite Codex's reassurances. +_Identity code acknowledged. Continue routine patrol.+_ Thank Primus, this was going to work.

They did not encounter any other drones as they made their way under the very shadow of the tower. In addition to answering the regular queries from the mainframe, Blaster was also able to track the other units moving in the area and they carefully avoided any contact. The area immediately around the tower was very quiet. Codex silently directed Blaster to an access panel on the curved outer surface of the tower. As he played lookout, she unscrewed the panel and swung it open. A thick bundle of cables flanked by two glowing energon lines climbed up the interior wall of the tower in the space behind the panel.

"Here's our listening post," she said excitedly. "We can both fit in here in our alt. forms. I'll plug in directly and see what I can pull from the datastore. You tap into the radio frequency and listen in on Shockwave. He's hard at work right now."

She pulled a cable from her helm and fitted it into a port next to the bundle. Then she gestured for him to transform. He did so and she picked him up and nestled him against the outer wall. He would be unable to transform back in this space without tearing himself up and probably getting a good shock in the process. Then she swung the panel almost shut and transformed herself. The two mechanisms; one gray, one red, sat innocently hidden while the cybernetic minds hidden within opened their unique senses to their enemies' secrets.

The time had almost come for the offline drone to start reporting in for itself again when there was the sudden noise of a massive explosion and the tower shook. More gritty dirt showered them and the panel above swung open. The explosion was quickly followed by a burst of laser fire and amazingly, the sound of revving engines. The radio channels hummed and sang as Shockwave sent out the alert +_Autobots! All units: track and apprehend.+_

_+What did you do?+ _he radioed Codex.

_+Huh? Me?+_ she answered muzzily, pulling her focus back from exploring the mainframe. _+I didn't do anything. Don't transform in here!+ _she reminded him sternly just as he was about to trigger his transformation actuators. _+What did you blow up?+_

_+I didn't do that. I thought you had triggered something while you were fooling around in the system. No, wait…+_ alerted now, they both heard the voice booming over the communications system. Its deadly rasp echoed through the tower.

"Wait, Shockwave. I want you to destroy the Autobots with rain, acid rain!"

"As you command, Mighty Megatron," intoned Shockwave from somewhere on the other side of the wall. _+All drone units, cancel last order. Return to Decepticon comm. for repairs. Seeker patrol two, track Autobot infiltrators and destroy with acid rain.+_

"Megatron is alive?" Codex whispered. She transformed and scooped Blaster up with one hand while she pulled her dataline with the other. "Oh, Primus, what have I done? You don't have much time. Those Seekers will be on us in a few kliks." She dropped Blaster gently outside and scrambled out. "C'mon, transform. You can run faster than me. You have to get out of here."

"Wait," said Blaster as he transformed. He knelt down and put a calming hand on Codex's head. "Don't you mean WE have to get out of here?"

"Yes," she said impatiently. "We have to get out of here, so let's get moving."

"I don't think they're after us," despite her agitation, he didn't think they were the focus of Shockwave's search.

"If Megatron is alive, then they ARE after us," she replied, looking frantically up at the sky and tugging on his arm. "If Megatron is alive, then Soundwave will be, too. You're not ready." Her face was drawn with fear. She looked wildly up at the tower, hunching down as if the looming building had lifted a fist to strike them down.

"Ready for what? Codex, are you even sure that WAS Megatron?" he asked, trying to engage her logic circuits to fight her rising panic.

"Oh, yes," she moaned and glared up at him with blazing blue optics. "It's not a voice you forget. Megatron is alive. Soundwave is alive. Optimus Prime is dead and we will be, too."

"Codex, stop!" Blaster grabbed the femme's shoulders and shook her. "You're scared. I think I understand why. But we have to think. We heard engines driving away. Megatron told Shockwave to track the Autobots. I don't think he's actually here. And I don't think they're looking for us. If we run out into the open right now, they will find us, so we have to stop and think."

"Stop," she said softly. "Think." Her optics dimmed and she seemed to collect herself. "Sorry. I shouldn't have panicked."

"Hey, don't fuss about it. I'm probably just too dumb to realize how much danger we're in," he chuckled and lifted her up to his shoulder as he stood.

"You've got that right," she said, looking at him levelly. "We have got to get back and warn the others, though."

"Shouldn't we go after the Autobots we heard?" he asked.

"We'll never be able to keep up. They have vehicle forms. See if you can pick up on their signal, though. We can listen in and see if we can find out where they are going," she replied.

"We can send them a warning, too," he said, "about the acid rain."

"No!" she cried, stiffening again. "We can't risk any transmissions until we get underground. They'll know enough to get under cover if it rains. We'll contact them once we get back to headquarters."

"Why not now?" he asked petulantly.

"Soundwave. Megatron might not be here, but we don't know for sure if he is or not. If you transmit, he'll track you down. The two of us can't handle him. We have to report in and get some back up."

"Fine," he said. "Transform and I'll carry you. You are right. I do move faster than you."

She transformed and he tucked the gray datapad under his arm. "Let's go."

Author's Note:

A little action here, and a small mystery or two to keep things interesting. I have always imagined the datapads mentioned throughout this story to be a little bit like those nice tablet computers. They have a screen and an interface for manual input, touch screen, or stylus. They can open up clamshell-wise, like a regular laptop, or the screen section can pivot around and fold flat. They're small enough for an average sized TF to hold in one hand, so a little bit larger than a standard Earth laptop of today. Codex loses some mass when she transforms, but not nearly as much as Blaster or Perceptor. In robot mode, she's a little shorter than G1 Rumble.

Some more vocabulary:

Cybertronian acid rain: It is very corrosive and capable of short circuiting a Transformer in the space of a few kliks. Not a pleasant way to die.

Seekers: The standard Decepticon jets, ala Starscream and co.

Astrosecond: An undetermined, but minute amount of time. I'm using it here as an analogy for "second".

Iacon: The last Autobot stronghold on Cybertron before the launch of the Ark. It occupies the planet's North Pole. It's a city-state.

Nova Cronum and Polyhex are located to the south of Iacon, and they are next to one another as well. Nova Cronum was known for being a center of science and learning, Polyhex was the network command hub and satellite command center, so a logical place to put a communications tower.


	3. Finding an argument

Civilians

Sir, I have found you an argument. I am not obliged to find you an understanding.—**Samuel Johnson**

Chapter Three: Finding an argument

_Though never a Matrix-bearer, Elita-One, the Autobot Commander on Cybertron during the vorns of stasis, was a Prime in many other ways. She maintained hope and discipline in her troops, commanded the respect of her Decepticon adversaries and coordinated the extensive repairs required to revitalize the damaged planet's sub-surface. A lesser commander might have given in to tedium and despair, but Cybertron sustained Elita as much as she did it. If she had a fault, it was an overly cautious approach to security. While she never lost any ground to Decepticon incursion, she did fail to capitalize on certain instances of instability in the Decepticon leadership that might have opened new areas to Autobot control. In her defense, however, these opportunities were vanishingly rare and ceased altogether with Soundwave's ouster of Ratbat in vorn 24738 of the Prime Interregnum. On balance, most authorities agree that Elita-One's enlightened leadership was the primary contributing factor to the enduring Autobot presence on Cybertron in stasis.--__**The Prime Interregnum: Cybertron in Stasis, Cybertronia Datafile 137-2663**_

Perceptor, in microscope form, scanned a sample from the mysterious energon cube in Alpha Trion's laboratory. Alpha Trion stood close by at another workstation, examining the readings on a handheld sensor evaluating the energon cube itself. Firestar sat quietly on the edge of one of the repair berths. The old mech had examined both of Elita-One's warriors briefly upon their return to the main Autobot base at Iacon. He released Moonracer right away, but had asked Firestar to remain behind in case Perceptor had any questions.

"Spectrographic analysis shows that this energon was derived from a hydrogen-carbon source. That's very uncommon here." Perceptor announced at last. "Firestar, did the Decepticons you encountered give any indication of the origin of the cubes?"

"Nope," the red femme replied. "You heard our whole chat. They weren't really interested in giving information."

"That's right. They were prepared to disassemble you."

"They were," she smirked. "It's a good thing most of Shockwave's troops are big and dumb like that. Lets us stay a few jumps ahead."

"Thank Primus for that," said Alpha Trion, turning from his task. "This cube is definitely of recent manufacture. If Shockwave has new energon, he might also have new troops. We need to inform Elita-One."

"Inform me of what?" said a resonant female voice from the doorway.

All three Autobots turned, Perceptor transforming, to face the Autobot commander. She was tall and carried herself with the air of an experienced leader. She encouraged them to answer with a smile and a beckoning gesture.

"Elita-One, it is our considered determination that Shockwave is receiving energon from off-planet." Perceptor replied briskly. "As Alpha Trion says, he may also be obtaining additional forces and weapons. But we are unable to determine that."

"When you arrived, you reported something about radio traffic?" she asked.

"It was something Blaster said. He has been picking up on increased radio traffic on the Decepticon frequencies for several orns now." Perceptor replied.

"Blaster? He's the young signals mech in your group, isn't he?" Elita said thoughtfully and looked at Alpha Trion.

"Yes, Commander," Perceptor said. "He had been concerned about the increase in radio transmissions, so I told him I would notify you."

"That's right. I'm glad you did, but I'd like to talk to Blaster myself." She raised her voice. "Communications, please raise Autobot Blaster and patch me through."

"Yes Commander," replied a disembodied voice from a speaker in the ceiling.

"While they are contacting him, how is my warrior?" She turned to face Firestar and put a gentle hand on the warrior's arm. "Were you badly damaged?"

"No, Commander. Neither of us was hurt. Alpha Trion just wanted to keep me around to answer their questions." Firestar leaned back and propped herself on her elbows. "As I was telling these two, we were too fast for them."

"I am glad of that," Elita said, smiling.

"Commander," broke in the voice over the public address system. "We are unable to raise Blaster. He is not answering our hails."

"Did you try the Nova Cronum base? He may be still offline."

"Yes, Commander. Steelblade reports that he is nowhere to be found in the base and is not signed out on any of the security logs. He is mustering his team right now to see if anyone knows of Blaster's whereabouts."

"I understand. Please notify me as soon as you hear from them." Elita turned to Perceptor. "When was the last time you saw Blaster?"

"Before the recharge cycle," the scientist replied. "He came to my lab to ask for my assistance with a project he was contemplating."

"And that was?" she asked.

Perceptor hesitated. He had been very clear about denying Blaster permission for his excursion, but what had the younger mech said in reply? "I wasn't asking you for permission." He knew the Blaster was restless, but would he endanger himself by sneaking out on his own? Perceptor hoped not, but he would not prevaricate with Elita-One.

"Commander, he was proposing an excursion to the Decepticon sector of Polyhex to intercept their communications at close range. He was attempting to persuade me to accompany him and Codex. I declined their request," he said, a bit stiffly.

She turned to Alpha Trion and Firestar. "Codex _and_ Blaster? They could have gotten out together without us knowing, couldn't they?"

"Easily," replied Alpha Trion wearily. "Although I had hoped that Codex would have been more reluctant to put him in danger; she knows what's at stake."

"We thought putting the two of them together and in Perceptor's team would slow him down some. I guess we were wrong," said Firestar, frowning.

"Unfortunately, he can be quite persuasive." Elita-One said. "Well, now we know what direction they went in. If they're on the surface, they're not going to answer any of our hails. We'll send a team to Polyhex to collect them when they come back down."

"I'll go get Moonracer and Chromia. We'll go," said Firestar, striding out.

"Commander?" it was the deep, thoughtful voice of Steelblade from the speakers above.

"Go ahead Steelblade." Elita-One replied.

"Blaster and Codex are both missing from the base. Arcdriver went back and found an anomaly in the security logs two cycles into the last recharge period. It's just a brief period of static in the hall cameras, but it doesn't match up with any recorded power fluctuations. We think that's when they left. We don't know where they went, though."

"Good work, Steelblade. Perceptor here thinks they went out to Polyhex. We're checking in that direction." Elita's voice was calm, but Perceptor noticed the tense set of her shoulders and head. She was angry, but was also being careful not to overreact. "Contact me immediately if you hear from them. Elita-One out."

"Perceptor," she said, turning to the scientist. "We are in a difficult position with Blaster. You are aware that he is the most recently created Autobot on Cybertron."

"I did know that," Perceptor said wryly. Blaster's inexperience and youthful energy made him very difficult for the meticulous scientist to work with at times. Steelblade had a much easier time with him, but Blaster's particular talents were frequently necessary to Perceptor's projects, so they managed as best they could.

"Did you also know that he was created by Alpha Trion for a special purpose?" she went on.

"No, I did not."

"He was created to be Soundwave's equal. Alpha Trion and Wheeljack were working on the project together. Shortly before the Ark was launched Autobot infiltrators were able to acquire the plans for Decepticon spy cassette technology. Optimus Prime decided to use the technology to create a communications officer who would be able to match Soundwave. We all hoped that this would finally neutralize the Decepticons' signals advantage. Blaster was given all of our most advanced radio manipulation technology by Alpha Trion while Wheeljack constructed a cadre of cassette minibots who would provide him with protection and remote operational abilities. We brought Blaster online a few orns after the Ark was launched. He was going to be trained and ready to join Optimus Prime's unit when he returned. You know what happened next," she finished.

"Or more accurately '_didn't_ happen'", Perceptor said.

"Exactly. We lost the Ark, and the Decepticon high command as well. With Soundwave gone, there was no reason to train Blaster for combat. I felt that he should be allowed to choose his own path, just as we all did in the days before the war. So we never told him about our plans," she said.

"We should have," Alpha Trion broke in. "We are hurting him by trying to protect him too much."

"I know how you feel about this," Elita-One replied coldly. "We will tell him, but only when he asks. I'm not forcing any Autobot into this war, not anymore."

"I never forced you into the war. Megatron did that," Alpha Trion said wearily.

"I know. I understand. This isn't about me," she said, equally resigned. "Let's not have this argument again, Alpha, please."

"Fine," he said shortly.

"In any case, we now have a young, inexperienced, very talented mech with too much time and too little to do," she held up her hand to forestall his comment as Perceptor opened his mouth to protest. "You and Steelblade do an admirable job of keeping him occupied, but I think that this recent excursion is just the first sign of a lot of future trouble."

"What do we do then?" asked Perceptor.

"I had hoped that Codex would have been able to keep him out of trouble. She's been part of the project ever since she brought back the plans, but I think she's been too close to Blaster for too long." Elita-One shook her head sadly.

"She thinks we don't give him enough of a chance," said Alpha Trion. "I think she's right."

Elita-One did not rise to the older mech's challenge. Instead she turned to the scientist. "What do you suggest I do?" she asked Perceptor.

He considered for a moment. "I believe that the most logical course of action would be to ask Blaster what he wants to do. We all know how restless and displeased he is. If you ask him, he may provide you with the best solution."

"That is the logical solution, definitely. But what do we do if he wants to leave Cybertron or proposes some kind of direct action against Shockwave? We don't have the resources for that," she said.

"Is that enough of a reason for not talking to him?" Alpha Trion asked, pressing his point. "Elita, he is thousands of vorns older than a lot of you were when you were first pulled into this. I think the time has come to let Blaster exercise his own judgment. He was created for a purpose."

"A purpose that long ago became irrelevant. He's restless now. Imagine what he'll be like when he learns that," she countered.

"He might surprise you," said Perceptor, surprising himself with the comment.

"Exactly," said Alpha Trion, moving to stand beside the scientist. "We are, at the most basic level, rational beings. If we present Blaster with the facts, all of the facts, I think we can trust him to make the right decision about what to do."

"All right," she said. "I agree to speak to Blaster and tell him the truth about his intended purpose and the extent of his talents. I will also consult with him about what he wants to do with his future. However, I am also going to punish him for his violation of the security protocols. If you feel he is responsible enough to make his own decisions, then he is also responsible enough to accept the consequences. Agreed?"

"Agreed," echoed the other Autobots, solemnly.

Elita-One turned and left the room without saying anything more. Perceptor knew that she would honor her decision, but he was sure that she was not happy with any part of these recent events. They had all become too complacent with the eons long state of balance, mistaking it for peace. Now the balance was tipping and they were being forced to scramble to avoid being dropped into chaos.

He hoped Blaster and Codex were unharmed, wherever they were, but he did not envy them their confrontation with the Autobot Commander when they did return. Elita-One did not possess the physical strength of her counterpart, the long departed Optimus Prime, but she was certainly a worthy inheritor of his discipline, determination, and aura of command. Very few Autobots cared to risk the disapproval of the Commander and fewer still openly defied her. Alpha Trion, of course, was the primary exception, and even he never used his special license in front of the rank and file Autobot troops, instead reserving his comments for private discussions with the senior staff.

Thinking of the ancient Autobot reminded Perceptor of a curious detail in the account of Blaster's origins.

"Alpha Trion, Elita-One mentioned the development of minibot troops to work with Blaster. What happened to them?" he asked.

The old mech turned to the scientist with downcast optics. "Wheeljack had almost completed their frames and programming before the Ark left. I think they are still locked up in his workshop in Iacon. They were never sparked or brought online."

"That's a shame," said Perceptor.

"Perhaps," said Alpha Trion thoughtfully. "But they may be better off waiting until the war is over before they inhabit those shells. I'm always reluctant to spark new life just to fight this cursed war. Elita's approach is not completely wrong, you know."

"If you feel that way, why convince her otherwise?" Perceptor was baffled at this convoluted thinking.

"It has a lot to do with the choices we've already made. She wants to protect Blaster, and also to give him the freedom to develop as if there were no war. But if there truly were no war, she would not need to protect him and since there is a war, he needs to be prepared to fight it. It's the essential problem of the Autobot cause. All of our forces are volunteers. They must be convinced to contribute to our cause. To compel them to fight by force or subterfuge would make us no better than our enemy. We must balance their autonomy with our needs. Every leader fights with this as much as he or she does with the Decepticons."

He indicated a small holoportrait near his personal area at the side of the room. It was a faithful rendition of the blue helm and silver facemask of the Autobots' legendary last Prime. "Optimus Prime's solution was to become the primary focus of his enemy's hatred. He was such a persistent shard in Megatron's optic that he could pull the Decepticon away from a vulnerable position just by appearing on the battlefield. His personal bravery and willingness to sacrifice himself for them made his troops immensely loyal. Of course, he paid the price for that tactic."

"A lot of Autobots paid that price," said Perceptor, thinking of Ratchet and Wheeljack.

"It was their decision to go. Prime took only volunteers on that mission," said Alpha Trion simply. "Anyway, Elita is much more cautious. She believes that we can wait Shockwave out. He's not as unreasonable as Megatron was. So it's become a contest of wills; Elita's hope against Shockwave's cold calculation of the odds. Until just recently, I believed that her approach had some merit, but now I think we're in trouble. Shockwave is getting off-world help. We must be prepared to take some kind of drastic action. If Blaster's abilities can help, then his time has come."

"I can see your point," Perceptor said. "He's certainly ready for anything."

Alpha Trion chuckled. "I figured he might be. He's capable of quite a lot."

"I appreciate the information, Alpha Trion," said Perceptor, turning to leave the medical bay.

"Perceptor, one moment," asked the old mech, stopping the scientist by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Will you grant me a request?"

"Certainly," said Perceptor, startled by the old mech's formal tone.

"Will you help Codex to watch over Blaster? He is my last creation. He has so much potential, but he has been stalled for so long. Please help him understand, from one talented mech to another, what it can mean to master your function." Alpha Trion's hand shook slightly on Perceptor's shoulder. He looked intently into the scientist's face.

Flattered and bemused, Perceptor said, "Of course, I'll help."

"Good," Alpha Trion with a final squeeze. The old mech took a step back, releasing his grip and gestured politely to the door. "I am grateful to you."

"I would have done it anyway," said Perceptor mildly as he stepped out of the door and walked towards the transport hub.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Codex scolded herself for her loss of composure in front of Blaster. She had been startled, true. Hearing the deadly, commanding rasp of Megatron's voice was enough of a shock at any time, and infinitely more so now given that all on Cybertron, except perhaps the faithful Shockwave, had believed him utterly destroyed millennia before. That voice meant the end of whatever peace and safety they might have thought they had. It meant the renewal of the war, the continuous terror of death and destruction, and in so many ways, the complete end of hope.

She may have been shocked and disheartened, but that was no excuse for botching their mission. The news of Megatron's survival and the coordinates she had extracted from the Decepticon mainframe before they had been forced to flee were vital information that must be brought to Elita-One. But instead of calmly and quietly extricating her team from their listening post, as any professional would have done, she panicked. She had been terrified that they had been discovered and would have run out into the open just to get away from the looming menace of that voice and all of its implications. Thank Primus and Vector Sigma for Blaster's level head. Just goes to show that all the training in the cosmos will never replace a calm head in a crisis.

Blaster had called himself ignorant, and perhaps he was, but his quick thinking had saved both of them. She owed it to him to focus on getting back to the Autobots. She pushed her rising despair down and turned her attention back to the present.

Blaster was moving more slowly now. He was using the overhanging roofs and sheltered work bays of the surrounding buildings to avoid any airborne observers. Neither of them had heard the thunderous crashes and booms that preceded Cyberton's deadly acid rain storms and the tiny glimpses of sky they were able to catch remained clear. The other Autobots, the ones Megatron had sent the Seekers after, must not be in this area.

_+Can you hear the other Autobots?+_ she asked Blaster as he paused to scan up and down the street from a protected doorway.

_+Nope, they must be sticking close together and staying off the radio,+_ he replied.

_+It was sloppy of them to reveal themselves like that,+ _she said critically.

_+We won't have much of a chance to yell at them, though, as we're not even supposed to be here,+_ he was amused and that irritated her.

_+We won't, but someone should. There was nothing in the security briefings about an operation at this time. We wouldn't have gone if there was. So this was either a really covert operation that went very bad or someone else is also getting restless. In either case, it's really worrying.+ _She wasn't going to let him treat this lightly, not now.

_+So? What can we do? We're trying to stay out of trouble, in case you forgot.+_

_+Blaster, we have to tell Elita what happened. If that other team is in trouble, she'll need to send a rescue mission. We're going to have to go straight to her and tell her what we heard and found,+_ Codex said.

_+Aw, Codex, I was hoping you weren't going to bring that up,+_ he grumbled.

_+But you're not surprised are you?+_ she asked.

_+Nope. They've been trying to radio me for the last few kliks. I don't want to reply until we get back underground,+_ he said as he made his way down the street towards the transport plaza.

_+Fine, but as soon as we get underground, you need to contact Elita and tell her everything.+_

_+I will,+_ he promised.

They had just come out from the cover of the buildings when the quiet was shattered by the roar of jet turbines. They looked up to see a pair of Decepticon terajets one red and black, the other green and white, angling down towards them from high in the starry sky. The open access tunnel to the safety of underground was a short dash ahead. Blaster broke into a run, clutching Codex tightly to his chest.

He was within a few steps of the tiny hole when a concussion blast knocked him off of his feet. He sprawled, and Codex shot out of his grip, sliding across the ground past the tunnel hatch, transforming as she went. She ground to a halt, scrambled her feet and ran back towards the prone red mech. Quickly reaching his side, she tugged on his arm to get him to rise. She looked anxiously over his shoulder and scanned the sky.

The green and white jet was curving up for another strafing pass. The other had transformed and landed heavily a few steps behind the dazed Blaster. The red and black Seeker sneered as he raised an arm cannon.

"You Autobots thought you'd lose us by splitting up. Fools!" he cried triumphantly.

"Blaster, come on," Codex hissed as she pulled on his unresponsive arm.

"Lord Megatron will be pleased. We'll gladly repay you for your insult to him," the red Seeker continued as he stalked closer to the prone and crouching pair. His partner banked in a turn that outlined him briefly against the second of Cybertron's moons. Soon he would be bringing his weapons to bear again.

"Now, foolish Autobots, I will give you a choice. Surrender now and I will bring you to Shockwave for interrogation. Perhaps he will even allow you to live to witness the glory of Megatron's return to Cybertron before he destroys you. Or, choose to fight and die here," he laughed harshly.

"Codex," Blaster murmured. "Can you offline this guy like you did the drone?" He tensed beneath her fingers.

"I can daze him for a few kliks, but his self-repair will clear his systems pretty quickly," she whispered back. "We could just make a break for the hole."

"No, he'll be expecting that. I don't want to get shot. Just be ready to move," he said as he shifted his weight onto his arms.

"Have you decided?" asked the red Seeker, now looming over them. His arm cannon aimed directly at the center of Blaster's back.

"We've decided," said Blaster tightly. "You can go slag yourself!" With that, he launched himself backwards, tucking and rolling into the big Decepticon's legs. The arm cannon spat out a beam of purple light as it swung wildly, the light sheared a charred slice out of a nearby signpost.

The Decepticon staggered backwards and crashed to the ground. Blaster leaped onto the bigger mech, trying to pin his arms with their deadly cannons while his legs kicked and he bucked against the ground. Codex looked up to see the green and white jet swooping low, the rumble of his engines rattling the ground bound combatants. The flier pulled up again, rolling in his turn to see what was going on below. They only had a few astroseconds before he decided to transform and help his partner.

Codex slipped around the flailing mechs, catching a painful clip on the shoulder by the flailing Decepticon's gun barrel. She cried out in pain and surprise. She had forgotten how hard the big Seekers could hit. Blaster was strong to be able to contain this one even briefly. No time to waste. She jumped up, clinging to Blaster's shoulder to bring one hand close to the Seeker's neck. She retracted her hand and extended a sturdy, spiked system access probe.

"Get off of me, groundbound slaggers!" yelled the Seeker. "I'll tear off your worthless limbs!"

"Try it!" Blaster taunted as he kneeled on the Seeker's wings and pinned his arms against the ground. This effectively immobilized the upper half of the Decepticon's body and allowed Codex to lean in close to his contorted face.

"We will kill you, little Autobot," he hissed, red optics blazing into her blue ones. "You will die screaming for mercy, like all of your worthless kind do."

"Will I?" she asked mildly, brandishing the sharp spike of the probe before his optics. "Well then, we'll see if you can provide me with a better example of how to die."

"Rragh!" the Seeker growled as he strained against Blaster's iron grip. "You can't kill me."

"Sounds like a challenge," cried Blaster. "Let's find out!" He leaned in, grinding the other's limbs and wings painfully into the metallic ground. The Seeker grunted and writhed with the pain.

As the Seeker struggled, he whipped his head to the side. For an instant his supple neck cabling was exposed. Codex drove her probe deeply into his neck with the full force of her arm. The Decepticon shrieked in pain and fear. She felt the shock of connection as she breached his neural net. Her optics flickered as she forced a download into his system. It was a simple but powerful virus that rerouted his motor commands to the wrong parts of his CPU. It wouldn't last long, his internal diagnostics would clear it up within kliks, but it effectively paralyzed him now.

He locked up, back arching rigidly off of the ground, wingtips and boot thrusters digging into the metallic decking beneath his feet. She tumbled off of Blaster and the larger mech clambered up from his hands and knees. They looked away from the gruesome spectacle on the ground to the sky. The green and white Seeker was curving towards them again, gyrating through his transformation as he drew closer.

They broke and sprinted for the access tunnel. Codex dove inside, catching the ladder as she fell. Blaster transformed in the air above the hole and dropped down. She swung out from the ladder to catch him with one hand as he tumbled past. She clipped him to her back and switched her hand and foot grip to the outside rim of the metal ladder and clinging to the slender metal pipes, they slid down into the darkness.

Above them, they could hear the echoing howls of rage from the two Seekers.

+-+-+-+-+-+

Blaster had always gotten along with Elita-One's warriors. He liked their stories of the days of the war. He knew that they also often felt confined by the restrictive life of the Cybertronian Autobots. They even had taken him along, strictly without authorization, on a few of their missions to explore the Decpticon held surface of their planet.

Because the liked the warriors, it was doubly difficult to face their worried, angry, disappointed expressions as he and Codex emerged through the blast door into the Polyhex underground transit terminal. Firestar was the most obviously upset of the trio. She scowled at him and looked ready to launch into a paint blistering lecture. Green Chromia was more resigned, just shaking her head at the dented, dusty, limping pair as they stepped into the light. Moonracer wore a carefully neutral expression but he got the impression that she was more insulted at not being asked to participate in their little raid than anything else.

"And here they are," said Chromia. "Quite the pair of sorry looking scraplets."

"Looks like you got pounded by a rivet roller," said Moonracer, snickering.

"Almost," said Blaster, wincing. "It was a Decepticon Seeker, actually."

"And a drone," said Codex.

"Oh yeah, and a drone. And one of the tunnels collapsed on us on the way back. That banged us up pretty good, too," he grinned and winced again.

"Serves you right," said Firestar angrily. "What were you _thinking_? Elita-One is furious with you both. And she should be. You are a pair of the most irresponsible, thoughtless, careless, stupid, glitch-headed…"

"Let's leave it there, Firestar," said Chromia. "You don't want to take all of Elita's good lines. Do you?"

"Hmph," said Firestar, tossing her head. "Let's get out of here. These two were probably followed. Codex, close that blast door."

Codex went to the door controls and tapped in a short code. The massive blast door slowly rolled shut and they heard the 'clang' as the locking bolts shot home. She turned and limped back to where Blaster was standing.

"Codex, why are you limping?" asked Moonracer gently.

"It's nothing," Codex said. "Are we going to Iacon now?"

"Codex," said Chromia. "It's not our responsibility to reprimand you," she looked significantly at Firestar who had the grace to look abashed.

"You are correct, Chromia." Codex said formally. "However, we appreciate your concern for our welfare. We acknowledge the fact that we have violated the security protocols and are prepared to report to Elita-One for our reprimand and punishment," she stood quietly, arms crossed over her chest. She looked up at Chromia with a steady, challenging expression. "Blaster informs me that we have been instructed to go to Iacon at this time. Is that also correct?"

"Yes," said Chromia simply, meeting Codex's gaze. "We were sent to escort you to Iacon."

"Well, I would certainly appreciate your help in getting there," Blaster said warmly.

"Let's get going, then," said Chromia as she and the other two transformed. Codex took the seat in Chromia's cab while Blaster transformed to ride with Moonracer. He had thought the young warrior might be in a talkative mood, but she was quiet as they flew through the transit tunnel towards Iacon.

Blaster knew that Codex was upset. Her overly formal manner was the sign that she was trying very hard not to lose her temper at someone, him perhaps. She hadn't spoken much on their long walk back from the bottom of the ladder either. Even when they had gotten buried in the ceiling collapse, she just grimly dug herself out and then helped him get out from beneath a heavy panel.

Perhaps she was just tired and in pain, like him. He knew she was limping because she had ripped off the bottom surface of her feet in sliding down the access hatch ladder to avoid the Seekers' laser fire, but if she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to give her away. She had refused his offer to carry her, limping along gamely by his side as he made his way slowly through the tunnels. She had cautioned him not to say anything about Megatron until they had first spoken with Elita-One. He wondered why, but he agreed. They were going to be in enough trouble; maybe this news would make Elita-One go a little lighter on the punishment.

He was anxious about confessing everything to Elita-One. The Autobot Commander wasn't scary, certainly not as scary as those Decepticons had been, but there was something in him that wanted to stay in her good graces. He knew she would be upset with him for breaking the rules.

Anyway, he had been right. Something _was_ going on with the Decepticons. Something huge. He had heard about Megatron before, of course. He was the reason for the war. The evil Decepticon was so powerful that the mere memory of him had kept their entire planet in this state of tense waiting for more vorns than he cared to count. He knew that all of the Autobots had suffered losses great and small at his hands. So if he was back, truly returned from wherever he has been for millennia, they needed to be prepared. They needed to take action. And he was ready to be involved in that action, whatever it might be.

He wasn't really in the right frame of mind to appreciate the trip so he was glad when they arrived at the Iacon transit hub. This area was well lighted and well maintained. It still even held some of the air of peaceful industry that marked the last stronghold of the Autobot race. The lofty vaults were decorated with colorful abstract murals and here and there Autobot technicians and soldiers worked or conversed quietly together. All conversation stopped abruptly as they emerged from the transit tunnel and their escort transformed to walk them towards the Autobot Command Center. The Autobots in the terminal stared at them as they passed. In their wake buzzed the rapid crackle of radio transmission that Blaster always thought of as the true Cybertronian whispering.

_+…Blaster and Codex, they're stationed over at Nova Cronum…+_

_+ Comm. station said, "Polyhex Tower…"+_

_+…of course she knows. And she's furious.+_

_+…fighting someone, probably, but maybe just a tunnel collapse…+_

…_Shockwave follow them_?+

_+ Brave… +_

_+ Stupid… +_

_+ provoking the 'cons like that…+_

"Blaster? Blaster!" He snapped to attention. Perceptor was standing before him waving his hand in front of his eyes. "Are you severely damaged? I was told to direct you to the medical bay first if that was the case."

"Uh, sorry, Perceptor. No, I'm all right, just some dents."

The scientist turned to the small grey femme, "Codex, I see you are limping, I believe that obtaining medical assistance should be your primary concern. Elita-One has stated that she is willing to debrief you after you are seen by Alpha Trion."

"No, Perceptor, I should see Elita first," Codex said.

"If you insist," the scientist replied.

Chromia led the group, with the addition of Perceptor, past the Medical Bay and into the base's command suite. Elita-One maintained a small office there and was seated at her desk awaiting them when they arrived. She stood as they entered the room.

"Chromia, Firestar, Moonracer you are dismissed." The three warriors inclined their heads in acknowledgement of the command and quietly filed out of the room, closing the door behind them. "Perceptor, please take a seat." As the scientist seated himself behind the desk, the Autobot Commander turned to face Blaster and Codex.

"You both violated security protocols today by leaving your assigned station without authorization. You compounded this violation by traveling into restricted space and, from the looks of you, engaging in combat with the enemy. I do not care to hear any excuses for your behavior. However, I am willing at this time to listen to what you have to say. Once you have said your part, I am going to issue your punishment. After that, we will no longer speak about this incident. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Commander," Codex and Blaster said together.

"Fine. Codex, as the senior Autobot, you will speak first." Elita-One pressed her lips tightly together and crossed her arms as the grey femme drew herself to attention and began to speak.

"Commander Elita-One, Blaster and I used a combination of signal jamming and system slicing to circumvent the Nova Cronum security doors. We left the base two cycles into the recharge period. It was our intention to travel to the Polyhex Communications Tower, access the Tower mainframe and communications array, gather intelligence on Decepticon transmissions and activity, and return covertly to Nova Cronum. We traveled to the Polyhex station, cracked a blast door and made our way to the surface. Once on the surface, we encountered, deactivated, and reprogrammed a drone to conceal our movements. We made our way undetected to the Tower and tapped into the system. 37 kliks into our data-gathering the Tower was attacked by a force of Autobots. We did not see these Autobots; they had vehicle modes and sped off quickly. Through the Tower comm., Decepticon Leader Megtron…"

"Megatron?" Elita-One and Perceptor said together.

"Yes. His voiceprint was unmistakable and Shockwave confirmed his identity," Codex replied, still stiffly formal.

"Just Megatron?" Elita-One asked, almost anxiously.

"Yes, Commander," said Codex softly, looking away from the Autobot leader for the first time.

"Oh," Elita-One's optics flickered with pain, but she nodded for Codex to continue.

"Megatron ordered Shockwave to destroy the Autobots with acid rain. Shockwave sent a Seeker battle group to pursue the Autobots. We extricated ourselves from our position and proceeded back to our surface access point. Upon reaching the transit plaza, we were attacked by a pair of Seekers. Blaster was able to hold one long enough for me to stun him so that we could make our escape. We made our way back to the Polyhex underground transit station where we met up with the escort you sent. We returned with them here. We have come to report to you about our findings. In addition to discovering that Megatron still lives, I located some coordinates in the Decepticon mainframe that may indicate the planet he is transmitting from. It is not in our solar system, but it is within our galaxy, somewhere within the Road Home constellation. Also, the Autobot strike force on the surface may be in some danger. We did not encounter or hear from them upon our return here." Her account complete, Codex hung her head and seemed to shrink into herself.

Elita-One vented deeply, then squaring her shoulders she turned to Blaster, "Is this account consistent with your experience as well?"

"It is," he began. "Elita-One, this whole thing was my fault. I didn't know you had another team out there."

"I think you are mistaken, Blaster. I didn't assign another Autobot team to a mission in that sector. Whoever they are, they are also in violation of security protocols," the Autobot leader said frowning. She raised her head, sending a brief transmission by internal radio. "I have informed the medbays to watch for Autobots seeking treatment for injuries consistent with exposure to acid rain, but as of this time, they have not called in or sought our help."

"We need to go find them then." Blaster cried. "We can't just leave them out there."

"We cannot risk revealing ourselves to the Decpticons at this time," she said flatly.

"What?" he was shocked. "You're just going to leave them out there; damaged or captured or worse?"

"I don't see that I have any choice. I cannot risk the security of all of my Autobots to try and locate a few reckless unknowns," she replied. "If they call us for help, of course we will go, but until that time…"

"Commander, how can you do this?" Blaster couldn't understand her. How could she be so calm in writing them off? "Would you have left me and Codex up there?"

"Blaster," Codex said quietly. "We don't know who they are or where they went. How could we go after them?"

"The 'con traffic will tell us. I can go back up and tap into their signal again," he said excitedly.

"Absolutely not!" Elita-One said sharply. "Autobot Blaster, Autobot Codex, you are found to be in violation of standard Autobot security protocols. As punishment for this violation, you will both be returned to your station at Nova Cronum under Perceptor's custody. You will be restricted to base duty only for 200 orns. At the end of this time, if your performance has been satisfactory, you will be released for standard duty according to your former profiles. Further infractions of the rules will result in your being confined to the brig here in Iacon. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Commander," said Codex.

"Yes, but Commander, I'm sure we can do something to find those Autobots," Blaster said.

"Blaster," Elita-One said impatiently. "We are doing what we can. Your suggestion has been noted. Now you will go with Perceptor. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander," said Blaster sulkily, turning away from her and stalking to the door. "Let's go then."

Perceptor rose and Codex moved slowly to join Blaster at the door. "Goodbye, Commander," the scientist said courteously.

"You are dismissed." Elita-One said, turning from them as they left. The door closed upon her silent back.

Then they were alone in the corridor.

"Why won't she go after them? What's wrong with her?" Blaster was not going to be shut down until he got some kind of response. "What's wrong with you two?" He shook Codex by the shoulders, absently feeling the dent left by the red Seeker in the right one.

"Blaster," Codex snapped, shaking off his hands. "That hurts."

"Sorry," he said, contrite. "I'm missing something here. Why did she just hand us a punishment and kick us out? I know she's angry, but this isn't like her. She usually at least listens to everything you have to say."

"Well, we just handed her a big problem and a lot of bad news," Codex began thoughtfully. "But I think she kicked us out so we wouldn't see her break down."

"What?" Blaster and Perceptor said together.

"Megatron is alive. He's directing Shockwave from wherever he is right now, so he's still in charge of the Decepticons. He's got enough energy to power his communications systems," she said, ticking off the points on her fingers. "So, what does that mean for the Ark Autobots?"

"Nothing good," said Blaster.

"And who was the leader of that mission?" Codex asked, looking significantly at Perceptor.

"Optimus Prime," the scientist said in a hollow voice. "Oh dear, this is quite a catastrophe for poor Elita."

"Exactly," said Codex.

"I don't get it," said Blaster, puzzled. "We've always known Optimus Prime was dead. That's why Elita's in charge, right? What's the problem?"

"The problem, glitch-brain, is that we never _knew_ that Prime was dead. We thought he _might _be dead, but we never knew for sure," said Codex. "Elita and Optimus had a very special relationship. She would never leave Cybertron if she thought he might come back here. Now that she's sure he's gone, I don't know if she'll stay. I wouldn't."

"What do you mean by that?" Blaster asked.

"I mean, why stay on this dying planet if you don't have to. There's nothing here but bad memories," she replied.

"So why don't you go?" Blaster said hotly. He had never suspected that she hated Cybertron so much. Was everyone just looking for an excuse to give up on the Autobots?

"I'm not talking about me, you scrap heap," she shot back. "I'm trying to explain how Elita-One might feel."

"Oh," he said, abashed. "Go ahead, then."

"And if Elita leaves; can you think of any other Autobot on Cybertron who could keep us all working and fighting as well as she could, especially if Megatron comes back and brings more Decepticons into the fight?"

"Good point," said Blaster.

"So she has to decide, to stay or to go, and she has to deal with the fact the Optimus is dead. That's a lot for anyone to deal with, but even more so for her. And she didn't want us around while she was going though it."

"Perhaps," said Perceptor slowly, "but I think there may be a flaw in your premise."

"Well, you just don't understand how females think," Codex huffed.

"That's not it," the scientist replied evenly, "I'm certain that your analysis of Elita-One's thought processes are quite cogent. I am instead referring to your original premise; that Optimus Prime has been destroyed."

"How can you say that?" she asked, amazed.

"I believe that you are positing an overly pessimistic interpretation of the evidence. While it is true that Megatron's re-emergence without any direct evidence of Prime's equivalent return is a cause for alarm; there are several indirect clues that may point to the continued survival of both leaders and their forces," he said smiling benignly.

"There are? What are they?" asked Blaster and Codex.

"I do not wish to raise anyone's hopes without better evidence than my surmise. Why don't we return to Nova Cronum? I'll be able to repair your damages. I know they are more severe than you are letting on, aren't they, Codex?" he asked kindly.

"Now that you mention it, yes, I'm pretty sure I broke a few struts in my ankle when we landed, but…well, you know," she said, wincing as she shifted her weight from the damaged foot.

"Yes, I thought so. Blaster, will you carry Codex?"

"Yep," Blaster said, bending down to lift the un-protesting femme up to his shoulder. "Why didn't you let me do this sooner?" he whispered to her.

"I didn't want to think about it," she whispered back.

"Good. Now let us return to Nova Cronum. I'll do some research and we can continue this conversation once you have both had sufficient time for recharge. We've all been given a lot to process. There's no need to be hasty. It takes time to develop a good plan," he said, leading the way down the hall.

"We had a good plan," said Blaster, laughing, "it just didn't survive contact with the enemy."

"An important element to remember," said Perceptor joining him in the laugh.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Author's Note:

Well, I'm mainly through the exposition now, so the action should pick up from here. Sorry about the delay in getting this out. This was a difficult chapter to write.

Credit goes here to the amazing Kepulver for the name of the Cybertronian constellation The Road Home (that's their term for the Milky Way) from the story Stargazing. It's a beautiful little character moment and features two of my all time favorite characters, Optimus Prime and Ironhide.

Comments and criticism as always are welcome. Thanks for reading.


	4. Open to conviction

Civilians

He that is not open to conviction, is not qualified for discussion. --**Richard Whately**

Chapter Four: Open to conviction

_The technical challenges of restoring war torn Cybertron were only overcome by steady, meticulous effort. Each system had to be repaired, tested, and calibrated before it could be integrated with the whole. Frequently repairs on one area, most notably the power supply infrastructure, had to be halted while all of the peripheral systems were re-inspected and repaired following a catastrophic failure. The process could not be rushed. Maintaining patience and focus in the face of imminent disaster became a hallmark of the Autobot technicians_**.--_The Prime Interregnum: Cybertron in Stasis, Cybertronia Datafile 137-2663_**

The struts in Codex's right ankle were indeed broken, creating a tangled mess of fragments that had eventually sawed a gash in her hydraulic line. The depressurized hydraulic system had caused the limp. Perceptor "tsked" absently at the damage as he switched off her pain sensors before draining the accumulated fluid and applying a patch to seal the ruptured hose.

"You should not re-pressurize this system until your self-repair seals that line properly," he said, moving on to disconnect and remove the broken shards of her ankle substructure. "It will be completely functional again in ten orns. Until that time, you are not to use that limb for locomotion. And no transforming. Do you understand?"

"No walking, no transforming," she said and smirked. "It's not like I have anywhere to go for a while, anyway. I can still work though, right?"

"At sedentary tasks, yes," Perceptor said.

The tough bottom surface of her foot was scored through, further evidence of her barely controlled slide down the access tunnel ladder. He would have to replace it as well as the broken internal struts. It was amazing how quickly the damage compounded itself in this type of injury. Thankfully, neither Codex nor Blaster had sustained any injuries from the Seekers' weapons. Structural damage was bad enough, but combat wounds could destroy whole systems; forcing a cascade of interlocking failures that would wipe a mech's memory core and extinguish his Spark. Only an extremely talented medic, like Ratchet, was quick and confident enough to halt such a process in time. Perceptor was a capable, even brilliant, technician but he did not possess the right temperament to be a combat medic. He worked his way meticulously through the repairs, cautiously avoiding the temporary patch on the weak hydraulic line.

"Well, I'm not permitted to go out with the teams anyway," Codex said after a moment's thought. "So I can use my time to catch up on indexing those records we found on the Nova Cronum lab's mainframe. Do we have a small maglev-sled I can use to get around?"

"I sent Blaster to go through the supplies and locate one," Perceptor replied.

"I thought he looked preoccupied with something when he left. I guess I wasn't paying too much attention," Codex said.

"Understandable. Your injury was not as severe as I had feared, but the pain alerts were putting a substantial strain on your processor. You really should recharge and go offline. It will jump start the repair process," Perceptor said as he removed the damaged portion of her foot with a laser cutter.

"And it will stop me distracting you while you work." she said.

"That as well," he replied.

"I assure you, I'm as ready for recharge as I've ever been, but I wanted to speak with you alone first. Confidentially," she said, with a meaningful look towards the closed door of the lab.

"I appear to be accumulating confidences of late," he said wryly.

"Perhaps the only disadvantage to being trustworthy," she said with a gentle smile. "In any case, I trust you realize that we face a serious crisis right now."

"Indeed I do."

"And you know that our leader is demoralized, and is generally unlikely to take strong action unless provoked," Codex said.

Perceptor hadn't realized that Codex disapproved of Elita-One's defensive stance. It must be the result of Blaster's influence. "I agree that our leader is disinclined to seek conflict at any time," he said.

"A lot can be done without fighting," Codex said. "I'm not saying we should be looking to fight. The word is going to get out that Megatron is still alive, if it hasn't already. Most of the Autobots here are going to assume, like I did, that Megatron's return is a clear sign of the Ark Autobots' deaths. Someone is going to have to find out for sure, and I don't think Elita is willing to do it."

"So, what does this have to do with you?" Perceptor asked, tightening the last new strut in place and gently testing each connection.

"With us. You said you think the Autobots are still alive. I know you don't believe in intuition, so what special evidence do you have to make you think so?" she asked.

"I simply applied logic to the limited facts we have," he said. "Megatron is functional somewhere and has been so long enough to accumulate and transport a substantial quantity of energon to Cybertron. This means he has the ability, and presumably the desire, to return here but for some reason he is unwilling to do so. As Alpha Trion elucidated to me earlier, Optimus Prime is the only Autobot capable of containing and directing Megatron's primary attention. If Megatron has not returned to Cybertron, then something more important must be keeping him where he is. That thing, logically, must be the continued resistance of Optimus Prime and at least some of his force."

"Why haven't they contacted us then?" Codex cried in exasperation. "That all sounds good, but why have the Decepticons been able to reestablish contact, and we haven't?"

"The Decepticons possess an asset the Autobots do not," he explained patiently. "Soundwave is one Cybertronian with sufficient skills and capabilities to broadcast from that distance. Blaster could also do it as well, but he would require a signal booster, the coordinates of the Autobots current location and the Ark's reception/transmission frequencies. We have the frequencies and I believe you have the coordinates."

"If we can assume that the Autobots and Decepticons are on the same planet," she said.

"I am certain that is also a logical conjecture," Perceptor said with a smile as he sealed up her leg. "Due to our current situation of détente, we no longer have control over any of the surface equipment, to include the communications hub at Polyhex. Therefore we have no access to the signal boosting equipment necessary to send or receive a transmission to a galactic target. The Ark Autobots may have been sending us messages for vorns, but without the tower, we will never known about them."

"So why did you oppose Blaster's plan to go up before?" she asked as he turned to put his tools away. He was surprised at her question.

"As I said at the time, I did not consider the risk to be equivalent to the potential value of the information you would have gathered. When Blaster proposed his plan we had no new evidence to consider. Now, of course, the situation is substantially different."

"Oh," she said quietly.

"You were rash, and _you_ especially should know to be more cautious," he admonished her. "But what you did was brave. I expect that Elita-One will take increased precautions, given your information. I anticipate that she will pull everyone back to Iacon at some point. But she will not do it this orn. We have some time to devise and carry out an intelligence gathering mission before we are called back to Iacon."

"You weren't just joking about that?" she asked, sliding her legs around and sitting on the edge of the med berth.

"Certainly not," he said. "I agree that the time has come for decisive action. We are not fighters…"

"Blaster is," she broke in. "He's fast and strong. And he keeps calm. With a little combat training, he'll be really good."

"I'm not a fighter and neither are you," Perceptor countered. "And we're certainly not equipped to train him. Elita will not consider it until he's served his punishment, and we don't have that much time. So, for all practical purposes, we're not fighters."

"True," she mused.

"Therefore we must apply what talents we do possess to the problem," he said thoughtfully. "We have to think our way through this situation to avoid conflict. And we will not be proceeding until you are fully operational again."

"All right, I get the point," she groused, shifting back to recline again. "I'll go offline."

"Before you do, run a self-diagnostic and restore your pain receptors. I want to make sure I dealt with all of the damage," he said, casting a clinical eye over her supine form.

Her optics flickered briefly and she winced and twitched slightly as the diagnostic program tested her servos and relays. She lifted and flexed her newly repaired leg. After a few astroseconds she said, "Everything checks out. My hydraulic system is low, but I'll get more fluid after I come back online. You did a good job, Medic Perceptor."

"I'll be sure to have some hydraulic fluid here for you when you do. Rest now, Codex. The Autobots are functional. We'll find them," he said gently, laying his hand on the brow of her helm. He watched as her optics dimmed and her system cycled into deep recharge. Then he turned to his workstation and pulled up the plans of the recently repaired power grid. Cupping his chin in his hand, he began to make notes on a datapad as he scanned through the softly glowing images.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+

When Codex came back online she was surprised to see Blaster sitting in Perceptor's place at the data station. There was no sign of the scientist, but he had remembered to leave her a container of hydraulic fluid as well as a sealed mug of energon on the long edge of the repair berth. Blaster turned and rose when he heard her shift and slide to sit up.

"How long was I offline?" she asked, snagging the containers and opening the energon first. She took a sip, savoring the glowing fluid as it evaporated in static tingles through her recharge system.

"Almost an entire orn," Blaster replied, stepping to the side of the berth. "I've only been online about a cycle myself."

"Where's Perceptor?" she asked.

"He took the sled I found to Steelblade. It had a faulty motivator, but Perce is sure there's one in the stores to replace it."

"If there is, he'll find it," she said, finishing off the energon and reaching for the container of hydraulic fluid. She opened a port on her hip and slotted the feed tube of the container in place. With a hiss and a gurgling sound, its contents were drawn into her system. She sat up straight and flexed her arms and shoulders to redistribute the fluid throughout her body.

"How're you feeling?" asked Blaster, with an anxious look.

"Stiff, but less sore, I'm off my feet for a few orns, though. Time to regroup, I guess," she replied.

"As much as you can regroup two Autobots," he said with a chuckle.

"Three, Blaster," she corrected. "Perceptor says he's going in with us on this."

Blaster frowned, brow creasing above his visor. "I don't trust him. He turned us in. He'll pretend to go along with our plans and then tell Elita-One everything."

"He won't do that, Blaster," Codex said.

"How do you know?" he asked sourly. "Percy loves things like they are. He likes hiding. He's scared."

"_I'm_ scared," Codex said hotly. "And you should be too. Anyway, we turned ourselves in, remember? And you didn't tell Perceptor that your plan was a secret or that we were going to sneak out to do it when you told him all about it. He's very smart. Can you really blame him for putting the pieces together?"

"No," mutter Blaster sullenly.

"Right, so when Elita-One found out that we were missing and asked Perceptor if he knew where we went, should he have lied to her? To our Commander?" she asked, indignant.

"No," he admitted. Blaster looked down at her, crossing his arms and glowering behind his visor. He looked very stern. Was he trying to intimidate her? Well, it wasn't going to work.

"And now, knowing that Elita will most likely throw him in the brig with us when she finds out, he still offered to help. Perceptor may be picky and a bit tiresome, but he's not a liar. If he wasn't going to support us, he'd tell us, so stop slagging on him," she concluded loudly.

In the long moment of silence that followed her statement she looked down, suddenly intently focused on removing the canister from her hip. She hadn't meant to shout at Blaster, but Perceptor's calm logical confidence was more believable than the younger Autobot's bluster right now. They had done wrong. They had been punished, and worse, had hurt their Commander. They were planning to break the rules again, to expose themselves to attack or punishment and imprisonment by their own allies, all for proof.

She needed proof. She needed to know that their perseverance had been more than blind mechanical routine. The Ark had borne away the Spark of the Autobot cause. She would do anything to return it to them, to herself. Blaster needed to understand, to accept Perceptor as an ally in the search for evidence. They were only going to be able to do this together.

She looked up into Blaster's visored optics. "I shouldn't have shouted. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry I slagged on Perceptor. You're right. He wouldn't lie to us," he said, holding her gaze. "But I'm still not sure if he's up to this."

"Sneaking around is not his particular strength," she admitted. "But he's a quick learner."

"He's going to complicate things," Blaster said, shaking his head. "He's big and awkward like me, and he gets wrapped up in thinking too much."

"Maybe, but he can fix practically anything and he knows a lot more about the surface systems than either you or I do," she countered. "He was talking about coming up with a plan to use our talents to avoid fighting."

"That sounds like him," Blaster smirked.

"I don't think his plan could be any worse than ours was," she said.

"Let's hope not," he said ruefully, then suddenly. "I'm sorry you were damaged. I feel responsible."

"It was my own fault, trying to play the hero. I'm not built for dramatic escapes," she said, shaking her head at her own stupidity.

"I'd understand if you don't want to go," he said gently, moving close to lean in and look at her scraped and scuffed leg.

"Blaster," she said and then paused. Did he think she'd freak out again? Maybe he didn't want her to go. Would it be better to stay behind? Going up again would be scary enough, but staying down here, sensor blind to their condition, would be a million times worse. She couldn't remain behind. "I want to go with you."

He sagged slightly with relief and straightened back up. "I'm glad. I don't want to do this without you."

"Perceptor says I'll be back on my feet in ten, wait--nine now--orns. Long enough to lull everyone else into a false sense of security, don't you think?" she asked with a wicked grin.

"Codex, that's practically Decepticon thinking," Blaster teased. "You know we Autobots are always honest and forthright with one another."

"Blaster, my friend, you have _definitely_ been living underground for too long," she said, laughing.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

The ten orns of Codex's recuperation passed quickly. Steelblade and the others at the Nova Cronum station had listened to Codex's formal account of their excursion and her and Blaster's guilty apology and accepted both more or less gracefully. The news of Megatron's confirmed survival and mysterious whereabouts was the primary topic of conversation. The Nova Cronum team quickly decided that, while they didn't particularly like the information, they were better off knowing what was going on with their enemies.

Each of the technicians mourned the assumed loss of the Ark in their own way. Steelblade was stoically grave, while Flange started working on plans for a memorial. Arcdriver became moody and withdrawn. Out of respect, Perceptor and Codex kept their private theories to themselves. Blaster wasn't sure what he felt. He hadn't known the Ark's crew, but he felt bad for his friends in their sorrow. He hoped for their sake, if nothing else, that Perceptor's theory proved to be true. He was even more determined to get back up to the surface and find out.

The coordinates retrieved by Codex were made common knowledge to all the Autobots, but a thorough search of the records revealed little about the mystery planet except that it was the rocky third planet of a system orbiting a distant mid-range star. A preliminary scientific expedition had been sent there before the war, but no account of their findings was on file; even the names of the team members had been lost, a not uncommon fate for information originally stored in the Cybertronian Archive. The Decepticons had raided and stripped it early in the war. Codex and her colleagues escaped with what fragments they could, but it would never again be what it once was.

Due to their punishment, Codex and Blaster were absent from a mass meeting on the third orn after their return. Perceptor attended, however, and returned with a sobering report. Elita-One had indeed decided to consolidate the Autobot forces at Iacon. She was granting them a generous thirty orns to conclude their work and stand down the repair stations. It was explained that this schedule could and would be stepped up if there was any news of Decepticon reinforcements. The combat teams had been put on high alert and stationed at listening posts near the surface. They were monitoring all the broadcasts they could intercept. In addition, Elita-One had ordered the last of the Autobot shuttles to be prepared for launch from Iacon's hidden shuttle bay. If the Decepticons did return in force, she would order the total evacuation of Cybertron.

"I never thought she'd be willing to just give up," said Blaster sadly as they sat together in Perceptor's lab to hear the news.

"How did she look, Perceptor?" Codex asked.

"Tired. Chromia and Firestar were keeping very close to her during the meeting and she did not stay to answer many questions. Powerglide, the warrior from the Altihex team…"

"The one Moonracer likes?" asked Codex.

"She does? I didn't realize," the scientist said in surprise. "Anyway, he asked if there was any news about the Ark and that essentially ended the meeting right there. Elita-One said there was no news about the Ark and then she exited the room. As soon as she left, everyone fell to arguing. From what I observed, the majority of Autobots have concluded that the Ark has been destroyed. They're willing to leave Cybertron and try to regroup at one of the colonies if Megatron returns. But there's a small contingent, (including Alpha Trion, I might add) who are determined to stay, even if it means defying a direct order to evacuate. The warriors came out and dispersed everyone after about a quarter-cycle of debate. I left then, but the talk was continuing, albeit more informally."

"Why didn't you tell them what you told me, Perceptor?" asked Codex. "Did you talk to Elita at all?"

"I am reluctant to share my hypothesis in light of such minimal evidence," Perceptor said. "Elita-One is facing enough challenges to her leadership right now, and my theory may prove to be false. Her current strategy presents the best scenario for survival. We need all the intelligence we can gather before we try to make a stand here."

"I agree we need good information," said Blaster, emphatically. "I guess this means you're throwing in with us, doesn't it Perceptor?"

"Indeed," the scientist confirmed. "Once Codex is fully functional again I am prepared to go."

"I'm glad," Codex said. "We will need to be twice as cautious now. Both the Autobots and Decepticons will be watching for trouble. We could get caught in something very bad if we're not careful."

"I am certain that a good plan will allow us to circumvent any difficulties that arise," said Perceptor pulling up a map on his data station screen. "I have modified your original route to take advantage of tunnels that are in better repair. We'll come up closer to the Communications Tower and in a different part of the sector. That should confuse any Decepticon who might be waiting for us to re-emerge from the transit station."

Blaster looked at the screen and smiled. "Perceptor, I'm glad you're on our team."

"Me too," said Codex. "I can't wait to get back and bring Elita-One some good news."

"She will still discipline us for it," Perceptor said solemnly, "Most likely with time in the brig."

"If this trip is anything like the last one," Blaster quipped. "I'll welcome the rest."

The three conspirators laughed as they turned together and studied the softly glowing map on the screen.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+

**Author's Note:**

I apologize for the delay with this chapter. I had originally thought to just have a little interstitial chapter of dialogue here, but I needed to tie up some loose ends before we went on. It's a breathing space for everyone. The next chapter is moving along more quickly, so I should be able to get it posted pretty soon. Thanks for reading.

--Coraxonyx


	5. From the sky and from the Earth

Civilians

The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape... --**Pablo Picasso**

Chapter five: From the sky and from the Earth

_Cybertron and its moons were treated as prohibited space by the Cybertronian exiles in the surrounding systems. At first the colonial forces were too concerned with their own survival to attempt to return and revitalize their homeworld. And later, other targets always seemed of more importance than the exhausted planet. So they watched from afar and kept strictly away. In truth, most of the colonial leaders were afraid of returning to find Cybertron a dead husk and in time, like the Ark lost many vorns before, Cybertron itself became a symbol. It was a prize only to be claimed by the ultimate and unquestioned victor of the Great War. Seizing the planet would be the mark of audacity that only the true leader of either faction could show.--__** The Prime Interregnum: Cybertron in Stasis, Cybertronia Datafile 137-2663**_

Perceptor clambered out of the transit access tunnel and stood with his companions in an open plaza under the vault of the Cybertronian sky. The stars blazed and wheeled in the blackness overhead. The bloated moons hung in the sky like glaring white optics. The atmosphere around him was cold and thin after so many vorns below ground. He felt vulnerable, exposed to the malevolent glare of the universe. For a nano-cycle he contemplated diving back down the tunnel under the security of the planet's protective metal skin again, but this thought was pushed aside as Blaster grabbed his arm and pointed him towards a distinctive domed building with a central tower that speared up into the starry sky. Codex trotted along beside them.

"That's the Communications Tower, Perce," said Blaster, pointing. "We need to get right up to the base."

"Fine." Perceptor shook off Blaster's guiding hand. "You lead and we'll keep up."

"This way," the red mech leaped into a loping run. Perceptor lengthened his stride to keep up, registering unexpected minor complaints from structural systems unused to this kind of exercise. How long had it been since he last exerted himself like this? He couldn't remember. As Blaster increased the distance between them he heard a chuckle from behind him.

"It's a good thing you're out of alignment. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to keep up." He glanced back to see Codex running hard, taking ten strides to his one.

"How did you know?"

"There's a hitch in your step. I think it's your right knee assembly. You should take a look at it when we get back."

"I certainly shall. May I carry you? You shouldn't put too much strain on your ankle, either." He held out his hand.

"Sure, that way I can give you directions if we lose ol' Turbocharged." She launched herself into the air, transforming into her compact datapad form as she descended. He reached out and caught her, then tucked her against his side as he sped up again.

Blaster briefly paused against the side of a building and beckoned for Perceptor to join him. As the scientist hurried up, the young mech looked worried.

"Are you damaged?" he asked softly.

"No, just out of alignment," was the brief reply.

"Good. We have another brief sprint in the open and then we'll have to go slower and be very careful to be quiet. We've been lucky so far. I haven't seen any drones and there's no radio traffic." Blaster sounded pleased.

"No radio traffic? That's unusual, isn't it?" asked Perceptor.

"A little," Blaster admitted. "But we did time this for the middle of the recharge cycle. Maybe the drones in this area are on recharge, too."

"Perhaps. Are you sure Shockwave didn't mark you somehow the last time you were here?" Perceptor didn't like to trust to good fortune. Shockwave was entirely willing to capitalize on his enemies' mistakes and setting an ambush to catch overconfident infiltrators upon their return would definitely appeal to the steward's logic circuits. Most efficient indeed.

"He never knew who we were, Perceptor. Primus, how stupid do you think we are?" Blaster shot back angrily. "The Seekers were looking for that other group of Autobots, when they left, he probably assumed we went with them. I would have."

"Blaster, he didn't say we were stupid. Stop being so fritzy," said Codex from under Perceptor's arm. "He's got a good point. We'll be extra careful, just in case."

"I'm careful. Just try to keep up this time." And with that Blaster sprinted off again.

Startled, Perceptor was forced to rush ungracefully after him to avoid losing sight of the running mech around the side of the next building. As he ran, he asked himself again what it was about his warning that made the young mech so irritated. He wasn't trying to be difficult. It just seemed more prudent to be cautious.

_+Why does Blaster get so annoyed with me? Does he dislike me?+_ He transmitted on a private radio channel to Codex as he jogged and ducked around buildings.

­_­__+He doesn't dislike you. He's just fed up with caution and delay. He's tired of all of the security protocols.+_ she replied.

_+What's wrong with that? As long as we're careful no one gets hurt and we are performing an invaluable service to Cybertron. It's certainly preferable to millennia of fighting and destruction.+_

_+But he's never known any other way of living. He doesn't know how bad the war was. He came online after the Ark vanished. All he knows of the Great War and the Autobot cause is what we, and Elita's troops, have told him.+_ she countered.

_+I know he's watched the history recordings. We've watched them together.+_

_+It's not the same. That's the problem with stories and images. They can never capture the entire picture. What Blaster knows from the stories is that we used to fight back. We used to win against the Decepticons. And now we hide from them. He says we're holding back, because…+_ she broke off.

_+Because of what? Codex?+ _He wasn't sure if he wanted her to say it.

_+Because you're afraid. Because we're all afraid. And he thinks that if he can prove to us that he's not afraid, then we'll take up the fight again.+_ she finished softly.

There it was. Fear. The curse of the intelligent being. He could call it caution or prudence or thinking ahead, but at the core, it was fear. As soon as you knew what something was worth, then you understood what would be lost when it was gone. And when everything you knew was threatened the weight of the fear held you down like a metallic continent. Blaster was right. Perceptor was afraid. But he would not be ashamed. Fear might guide him, but it did not drive him. He had believed Blaster's report about Megatron's return. The young mech may be reckless, but he was not a liar. Perceptor had come here willingly and he was prepared to face whatever they found. He concentrated again on Blaster's running form and sped up.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Codex, unencumbered with the business of running, was the first to become aware of the vibration. It started as a low noise, barely at the edge of hearing. She focused her processing power to determine the source but was unable to find a central point. She radioed to Blaster. Maybe his better auditory sensors could find it.

_+Do you hear a noise?+ s_he asked over a private radio link.

_+I hear Perce running. He sounds like a road leveler.+ _he replied, obviously still irritated with the scientist, or maybe just anxious now that they were underway.

_+I'm serious. I'm getting a big low noise and I can't tell where it's coming from.+_ she didn't have patience with his anxiety. He was supposed to be the level headed one.

He pulled up and cocked his head, listening. Perceptor, noticing Blaster's pose, stopped and listened as well. It was a deep thrumming noise like a massive engine. As it grew louder, they also noticed the shuddering of the ground beneath their feet.

"Is something coming?" Perceptor looked around to identify the source of the noise and vibration. "I don't see anything."

"Look!" cried Blaster, pointing to the sky. "The comm. tower."

Codex dropped out of Perceptor's hand, transforming on the way down. Landing in a crouch, she looked up in the direction of Blaster's pointing finger. A mechanism was extending from the top of the building, a cone section silhouetted at the top of the central tower above the dome. As they watched, it paused, obviously lifted as high as it was going to get. The vibration and noise took on a deeper note. Then the shape began to unfold, flaring out pointed panels to reveal a cup-shaped interior glowing with stored energy. The noise, loud enough now to cause Blaster to clap his hands over his sensitive audios, built to a shattering roar as a lance of blinding energy shot into the starry sky.

Momentarily dazed by the explosion of light and sound they huddled together in the shelter of a building's overhanging roof. Codex shook her head to clear her receptors and glanced again at the blazing light in the sky.

"What is that?" she grabbed Perceptor's hand and brought him down to her level so that he could hear her over the din. "What is that thing? Is it a weapon?"

"I do not know." He shouted back. "If it is a weapon, it is not firing at anything I can see." He also squinted skyward. "I think we know what the energon stockpiles were for now." He said in a dry toneless voice. "Blaster, what do we do?" He put his hand on the younger mech's shoulder and yelled the question into his audio. "Blaster?"

"Ahhgh, too much!" Blaster cried out and crouched down, hands clamped over his audios again. "Too much static, too much noise."

Codex cautiously opened her own radio channel. A noisy screeching burst of static made her quickly shut it down again. "He had his radio receptor open when that thing went off. The static. It's overloading his processor," she shouted to the scientist.

"Can't he just shut it down?" Perceptor cried.

"Not right now. We have to get him somewhere where the signal isn't so overpowering. We have to get some cover between him and that thing," she shouted back.

"I'll carry him; you find a place." Perceptor yelled, reaching out to grasp Blaster around the waist and sling him into an awkward over-the-shoulder carry.

Codex ran ahead, looking for a building with walls thick enough to block the energy of the Decepticon machine. She spotted a reinforced bunker in the shelter of a gun emplacement and, not caring if it was occupied just then, dashed up and wrenched the thick door open. Thankfully for them, it was empty.

Perceptor tumbled Blaster into the room in a huddle of entwined limbs. The scientist disentangled himself slowly, taking care not to disturb Blaster's carefully guarded head or his own delicate light cannon. Codex closed and bolted the door reducing the volume of the noise to a tolerable level, then turned to examine Blaster.

"Blaster? Are you all right?" She stepped forward and put a hand in the middle of his bright red back. He uncurled slightly and peered up at her from under his elbow.

"That's better," he said weakly. "Whatever that was, it was loud."

"It's using a tremendous amount of energy." Perceptor said. He was standing at the wall, peeking out of one of the reinforced gun slits. He had a scanner in one hand and kept lifting it to the open port, then checking the reading. "It would be safest for us to remain here for now."

"Perceptor, you have an amazing command of the obvious, you know," laughed Blaster, sitting up slowly.

"I state my observations aloud to ensure our mutual understanding," the scientist replied primly.

"Whatever."

"Blaster, how are you feeling?" Codex stepped close to the seated mech. "Do you want Perceptor to examine your relays?"

"Nah, I'm all right. I shut down my radio receptor for now, give it some time to cool down. My head's all right and Percy managed to get me here without breaking anything, so I'm doing fine." Blaster gave her a cheerful smile and a flicker of his blue visor.

"Fascinating." Perceptor cried from the window.

"What?"

"I believe something is about to occur."

Blaster and Codex moved to the gun port, Blaster boosted Codex up and held her so that they could both look out at the empty street.

"Observe the detritus over there," said Perceptor, indicating a small pile of trash in the lee of the opposite building. It was shuddering and rolling with the continuing underground vibrations. Then, oddly, it rose into the air, spiraling upwards out of sight. The thin atmosphere, barely noticeable at most times, gusted and blew around the room as it was also drawn outward and upward. There was a brief uncomfortable sensation of pulling weightlessness. Finally, the planet spasmed roughly underneath their feet and they were knocked to the ground.

As they got to their feet again there was only an eerie silence, broken by the sounds of small objects pattering to the ground outside. Perceptor looked again out of the gun slit.

"The machine seems to no longer be operating," he said, then lifted his sensor again. "Yes, the ambient energy levels have returned to zero."

"What just happened here?" asked Blaster incredulously. "Perceptor, how can you be so calm?"

"We survived the experience. I will admit a certain amount of scientific curiosity as to the nature and function of the device we saw, but as it did no harm to us, I am unwilling to become overly concerned. I am sure that we will ascertain the situation in due time." The scientist replied placidly. "More important to our immediate situation, what do you suggest we do now?" He arched an optic ridge at Blaster's stunned expression.

"If that thing is off, why don't we go out and see what it did. I can't see the sky from in here." Blaster replied after a moment's thought.

Perceptor opened the door and gestured for the others to precede him.

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They stepped out of the bunker into a shimmer of pale light. Three heads lifted, three sets of glowing sapphire optics widened in amazement. Filling half of the sky was the dazzlingly bright curve of a blue and white planet. As they stared, they could see the eclipse shadow of Cybertron moving slowly over the planet's surface. Faintly, around the rim of the sunlit planet, they could see the stars of this alien system. A single pitted and rocky moon, slightly smaller than Cybertron itself, hung suspended in the starfield to the left of the planet. Its absent pale face regarded the metal intruder with ancient calm.

The planet above was partially covered by white bands of vapor. As they watched, a column of vapor in the wake of the eclipse swirled and twisted outward, darkening and forming a nebulous vortex that obscured a Cybertron-sized area of the planet below.

"Ions," Perceptor said thoughtfully.

"What?" Codex asked.

"Whatever comprises those vapor clouds, it is becoming charged and ionized by our magnetic influence and atmospheric interaction. That formation is a tremendous storm," he answered.

"Will it affect us?" she asked, alarmed. Blaster couldn't blame her. Cybertron's acid rain was as dangerous as it was infrequent.

"I do not believe so. Our atmospheric envelope and lesser gravity should suffice to keep the phenomenon isolated to the other planet. But I feel sorry for the creatures below," he replied.

"How do you know that planet is even inhabited?" Blaster asked incredulously.

"Three reasons. One: I can clearly see regularly formed features in the terrain below and there are ground bound lights coming on under our shadow, both logical signs of habitation. Two: Someone must have collaborated with Shockwave to move our planet to this system. Cybertron did not have sufficient energy resources to power a transporter capable of this. Three: They are transmitting. Can't you hear them?"

Blaster, so startled by the luminous sight above that he had forgotten about his radio, activated his receptor. For a moment there was silence and then, a flood. He stood straight, visor fixed on the blue planet as his head was filled with a thousand, thousand signals. For the first time in his existence he felt the rush and press of data streaming through all of his systems, processors whirring to decode, identify, catalog and store. The majority of the content was gibberish, but meaning would come in time. As long dormant sectors in his processors and databanks flickered to life, he was filled with joy. The unknown blue planet was a fountain of signal. It gave him what dormant Cybertron never could. Blaster opened himself to the inrush of radio light, illuminated at last.

After a few astroseconds he began to pick through the transmissions pulling out organized patterns and discovered another joy. These blue planet creatures were music makers. He was not a devotee of Cybertronian music. It was beautiful, mechanically ordered and subtle, but seemed to lack something. There was nothing in its mathematical purity that he could feel in his Spark. But this blue planet music, he understood this. It surged and thumped. It seemed to carry a meaning that went beyond the tonal construction of chords and notes. The middle register sounds were similar to those of many of the other transmissions, perhaps it was a means of auditory communication. Did the blue planet creatures put data in their music?

He wanted to see what they looked like.

"Codex, transform and I'll give you a signal. I want to see what lives down there," he urged her.

Codex obligingly leaped up and transformed. He caught her and plugged one of her data cables into his processor. As Perceptor peered over his shoulder, they gazed intently at the screen.

An image took form, a bipedal organic creature arrayed in thin panels of some drab flexible substance walked through an alien landscape. Blaster played the accompanying sounds, a restless tune built on a quick drumming beat. As the Autobots watched, the biped encountered a group of other, similar creatures accompanied by two-wheeled metallic vehicles. There was a quick exchange, the original biped bumping and stumbling past the newcomers. Then it entered a building and had a similar encounter with another group. While all of this took place, the music played on.

A mysterious trio of bipeds, their faces obscured by hanging strands of fiber arranged in a way strangely reminiscent of Alpha Trion, appeared and disappeared. The biped creatures had a variety of color and shape variations, but stuck very closely to the two optics, central vent, mouth arrangement familiar to the Autobots. The image kept returning to the original biped again. Was this a record of an important event? Was this creature an influential figure on the planet below? The music suggested an artistic presentation of some type, but the images were not really what any Cybertronian would call art. They were interesting, though.

The series of mysterious events began to make a rudimentary sort of sense. The central biped negotiated for the purchase of some items. The other bipeds, with the exception of one, complied with the request reluctantly, harassing and jostling the creature so much that it lost a part of its visual array and dropped an item from its package before fleeing.

The creature went to a second location and delivered the package. A larger creature then put it to work gathering items from a storeroom and bringing them to a third creature that sat on the floor and held another creature's foot in its hand. Perhaps the floor creature was a medic of some type replacing the other's foot as Perceptor had so recently done for Codex. The focus of the image shifted back to the other location where a helpful biped collected the items the central creature had lost and brought them to it in the storeroom. The large supervisory creature sent the helpful one away.

Then a glossy red and gold vehicle appeared on the scene. It had angular markings on the side, but no obvious faction symbol. However, the color scheme was very much like Blaster's own. It was very different from any of the vehicles they had seen already. Was it an Autobot? Would it transform? It did not.

Instead the doors opened and three more bipeds got out. These were colorful and they moved with confidence. Perhaps they were warriors. They entered the medical facility and took the central biped out, driving away the patient and intimidating the medic and the supervisor. A rescue mission perhaps? The three warriors left the building with the central creature and proceeded to enter three other buildings where it was given an upgrade and new chassis. Then the four returned to the medical facility where the central creature was fitted with new foot components. Finally the warriors took the upgraded creature to the first location again. The four creatures asserted themselves, facing down the boisterous bipeds and winning allies. Then the upgraded biped and the helpful biped climbed on top of a drab red vehicle and drove away. The three warriors and their new allies entered the glossy red vehicle and also drove away. They mysterious trio appeared one last time and slowly vanished as a block of text appeared in the lower corner of the screen.

Blaster ended the transmission. Codex's screen went dark.

"That was interesting." Codex volunteered.

"Indeed," said Perceptor. "Quite sophisticated, though, for organics. Definitely worthy of future study."

"I don't know if we'll have time to study them, Perceptor," Codex said. "We're supposed to be looking for the Autobots, remember?"

"That red vehicle was like an Autobot," Blaster said. "Maybe these creatures have seen them."

"Maybe," Codex mused. "We can sift through their transmissions and see if there are any reports. Blaster, pull down everything you can get right now and I'll see if I can crack their language. It seems simple enough."

Her screen lit up with Cybertronian glyphs as Blaster sent her all of the transmissions he was receiving. "Hmm, choke it back a bit. There are too many codes here. I'm getting them confused."

"You mean they have more than one language?" Perceptor asked. "How interesting."

"Maybe. I can pick up transmissions in at least fifteen different language systems. The one we have here is the most prevalent," her screen split, showing the familiar glyphs on one side and a new symbol set on the other. It's only got about forty-eight sound units and twenty-six coding units, so it's pretty easy to decode. There is a lot of vocabulary, though."

"How long do you think it would take to learn this one?" Blaster asked eagerly.

"Well, if we had a guide, maybe a cycle or two. Scattershot, like this, will take the best part of an orn and we'll still be missing some context."

"We don't have an orn to sit in the open," said Perceptor. "We have got to go back and tell the others what has happened."

"Do you think they don't know?" Blaster shot back. "The way Cybertron moved, everyone knows something happened. It would be better for us to wait up here, learn what we can about this planet. When they come up to investigate we can link up. With all of this signal around, we should be able to easily disguise our transmission and the Decepticons will never pick up on us." He looked down at Codex. "What do you think, Codex?"

"We came up here to find out if we can contact the Autobots from the Ark. We haven't done that yet. If we could find a place to hide and monitor the planet, Earth, it's called. Then we could probably find out what we need to know, but Perceptor's right, we can't stay here in the open." As if saying the words reminded her again of their situation, she flashed an image of a Seeker tetrajet on her screen.

"Fine, then here's what we'll do." Blaster said emphatically. "We'll make our way to Iacon. The 'cons are least likely to come there. We can hide and monitor this Earth and when Elita-One or some of her forces come above ground, we can intercept them and fill them in."

"I do not think this is the safest plan, Blaster, but if I cannot persuade you, then I will accompany you." Perceptor said. "Let us go."

"Great," said Blaster with a huge grin. He tucked Codex under one arm, draped the other over Perceptor's shoulder, earning a startled jump from the scientist, and escorted them both in the direction of distant Iacon. In the sky, the Earth glowed blue and white and Blaster hummed along softly with the song in his head, "Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods..."

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Author's Note:

The scene with Blaster here is part of the reason I wrote this fic. I've had this pesistent image in my head for weeks now of the three of them, standing in a Cybertronian square with the vast blue arc of the Earth hanging above their heads. Unfortunately, I can't draw, so I got to write it instead. I think Blaster will be a lot happier now. Also, there's more action to come, so watch out.

Seeker tetrajet--the triangular Decepticon seeker vehicle mode from the G1 cartoons.

An energon goodie to the person who can guess the video that our intrepid explorers discovered here. I'll give you a hint, it was in the Top 10 videos of 1984.

Blaster's song at the end is Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" from the Footloose soundtrack.


End file.
